An Oxford startup just downloaded gigabytes from space using a laser
Key Points
- Oxford SME Archangel Lightworks completed the UK's first laser data download from a satellite in low Earth orbit
- The 90-second pass transferred many gigabytes via a deployable optical ground station in the Mediterranean
- The system was built for Dstl and could form part of the UK's digital targeting web
- Laser communications use non-visible light, offering higher data rates and harder-to-intercept transmissions than radio
- Archangel Lightworks recently completed a Series A round backed by the National Security Strategic Investment Fund
Oxford-based Archangel Lightworks has completed the UK’s first laser data download from a satellite, pulling many gigabytes from low Earth orbit in 90 seconds.
The company built the deployable optical ground station for the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and operated it from a site in the Mediterranean region during the satellite pass.
Laser communications, also known as free space optical communications, transmit information using non-visible light rather than radio waves, allowing far higher data rates over long distances.
Dstl compared the shift to moving from very slow internet to superfast fibre broadband.
“By developing laser communications we’re dramatically increasing how quickly and securely our satellites can talk to our bases on Earth, protecting these communications from interference and giving us an advantage over our adversaries,” said Luke Pollard MP, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry.
Light has a much shorter wavelength than radio waves, so it can carry more data per second while remaining extremely difficult to detect or intercept.
Narrow beams also reduce the chance of overlap with other networks and equipment, which the Ministry of Defence sees as critical in an increasingly contested electromagnetic environment.
The technology suits intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications where large volumes of data need to move quickly to give UK forces an operational edge.
“Laser communications will vastly improve the speed, size and security of data between our forces, whether they are in the air, on land, at sea or in space,” said Paul Hollinshead, Chief Executive at Dstl.
Archangel Lightworks, an Oxford SME, recently completed a Series A funding round backed by the National Security Strategic Investment Fund and manufactures its systems at an Oxford facility, positioning it as a sovereign UK capability for deployment, sale and export.
The technology could form part of the UK’s digital targeting web and is interoperable with the US Space Development Agency standard.
