X-lumin reported a successful roundtrip optical communication link between a compact 15 cm optical ground terminal (OGT) and a retroreflector-equipped low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, marking what it describes as the first such demonstration using a portable, low SWaP system. The Florida-based company said the terminal tracked downlink signals as weak as 1/1,000,000th of a watt per square meter (≈1 µW/m²), significantly below the typical 25 µW/m² benchmark for optical ground systems.
The demonstration was conducted across multiple satellite passes and required overcoming the inherent complexity of roundtrip optical links, where signals traverse atmospheric turbulence twice. X-lumin stated that its system achieved microradian-level pointing stability and picowatt-level detection sensitivity using a terminal weighing under 50 kg (≈110 lbs) and consuming less than 20 watts. The company emphasized that its architecture departs from traditional large-aperture telescope-based systems, enabling a smaller and more deployable form factor.
The system was developed under a Direct-to-Phase II SBIR Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Development Agency (SDA). X-lumin said the terminal is modem-agnostic and supports coherent optical communications at 100 Gbps and higher. The company positions the technology as a scalable alternative to RF-based ground infrastructure, targeting emerging use cases including optical intersatellite links (OISLs), orbital compute platforms, and data-intensive applications such as AI and hyperspectral imaging.
- Demonstrated roundtrip optical link between a 15 cm portable OGT and LEO satellite
- Achieved detection sensitivity down to ~1 µW/m² (well below typical 25 µW/m² baseline)
- Terminal specifications: <50 kg (<110 lbs), <20W power consumption
- Supports 100 Gbps+ coherent optical communication, modem-agnostic design
- Developed under U.S. Space Force SDA SBIR OTA program
- Validated performance across multiple satellite passes
- Targets scalable deployment for commercial and defense optical ground networks
“Rather than basing our system on large legacy astronomical telescope systems, we instead reimagined a system that was less affected by turbulence, required less infrastructure, and can be replicated at a lower cost,” said John Stryjewski, PhD, CTO and Co-Founder of X-lumin.
