Space-BACN program aims to deliver seamless communication between government and commercial LEO satellite constellations, utilising Mbryonics’ StarCom optical terminal.
MBRYONICS, an innovative Satellite Communications and Photonics equipment provider, has been selected by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the optical terminal, including the space telescope, the pointing, acquisition and tracking system and the optical amplifiers, as part of theSpace-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-BACN) program.
TA2 contractors are Intel Federal and Arizona State University and are designing the back end of the terminal, a reconfigurable modem that can support multiple optical waveforms up to 100Gbps on a single wavelength.
TA3 contractors are SpaceX, Kuiper Government Solutions, and Telesat Government Solutions and are helping DARPA design the cross-communications command and control system, including development of standards, common application programming interfaces, and consist of operations to enable cross-constellation interoperability.
Phase 2 will focus on scaling the technology to create low-cost solutions that can meet growing market demand while meeting the technical parameters for performance and efficiency, and interoperability. Mbryonics believe Phase 2 will be key to demonstrating the full potential of a new era of space-data.
