TAMPA, Fla. — Sony has partnered with California’s Astro Digital to test laser communications from two small satellites, using optical disc technology the Japanese conglomerate pioneered for CD players.
The pair of spacecraft will be based on Astro Digital’s Corvus satellite platform and ready to launch in 2026, the companies said in a brief Nov. 12 news release.
Each satellite would carry a Lasercom optical terminal from Sony Space Communications Corporation (SSCC), the Californian subsidiary Sony formed in 2022 to commercialize the technology following tests between the International Space Station and a ground station in Japan.
SSCC aims to test high data-rate optical links from the satellites and the ground, and also between each other in low Earth orbit (LEO).
Kyohei Iwamoto, SSCC’s president, said the company aims to showcase a more compact, lighter terminal that needs less power than other devices on the market, enabling smaller satellites to adopt high-speed laser communications instead of relying on radio waves.
While Astro Digital specializes in building satellites as small as 10 kilograms, he told SpaceNews that each demonstration spacecraft would be no smaller than 50 kilograms.
He also said SSCC has already secured customers for the terminals but did not elaborate.
Multiple companies are chasing the fledgling market for smaller and more efficient laser communications, including SpaceX, boosted by significant demand from the U.S. Space Development Agency.
Laser technology is seen as a key high-speed alternative for space-based communications as a surge in LEO satellites places increasing strain on a finite amount of radio spectrum.
In August, Mustafa Veziroglu stepped down as CEO of Mynaric as the company grappled with difficulties in ramping up production of its laser terminals to meet demand
