IonQ Inc (NYSE: IONQ) subsidiary Skyloom Global has deployed dozens of additional optical communication terminals aboard US military satellites in low Earth orbit.
The terminals launched aboard satellites built by privately held York Space Systems for the US Space Development Agency, according to a Monday press release. Additionally, the satellites form part of the agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, known as PWSA.
SpaceX launched the spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 16. The latest deployment follows an earlier group of Skyloom terminals launched during the agency’s first Tranche 1 mission.
Consequently, Skyloom now has several dozen optical communication terminals operating in orbit. The company described the deployment as one of the largest operational laser communication footprints in low Earth orbit.
Optical communication terminals use lasers to transmit large amounts of data between satellites at high speeds. Unlike traditional radio systems, laser communications can provide higher bandwidth while using narrower signals between spacecraft.
Additionally, the technology can help satellites exchange information across a network without sending every transmission through ground stations. That capability supports the Pentagon’s effort to create a faster and more resilient military communications network.
The terminals were installed aboard York Space Systems spacecraft before launch. Meanwhile, Skyloom designed its equipment to meet the Space Development Agency’s technical standards for communication between different satellites.
IonQ President of Quantum Platform Jordan Shapiro said the deployment followed years of work to manufacture the technology at scale. He also said Skyloom intends to support increasingly data intensive satellite networks as optical communications become more widely adopted.
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Space Development Agency is building a satellite network
The latest launch represents Skyloom’s second deployment of spacecraft carrying its optical terminals. Furthermore, it formed the third overall deployment of Transport Layer Tranche 1 satellites.
The Space Development Agency is building the Transport Layer as a network of interconnected satellites around Earth. Those satellites will move military data between spacecraft, ground systems and users operating in different locations.
Additionally, the architecture aims to provide high throughput communications with relatively little delay between sending and receiving information. The agency designed the system around common technical standards so equipment from different suppliers can communicate across the network.
Skyloom’s terminals provide the laser links needed to connect individual spacecraft within that network. However, the broader Tranche 1 constellation still requires additional deployments before the agency finishes the planned Transport Layer.
The latest satellites move the agency closer to finishing that stage of the PWSA. The spacecraft are intended to support military communications and other mission data across the satellite network.
The deployment puts IonQ into a rapidly expanding satellite communications market. Novaspace expects global revenue from space based laser communication terminals to reach USD$12.9 billion through 2035. The research firm expects more than 118,000 terminals to operate in orbit by then, driven largely by growing low Earth orbit satellite constellations.
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