SAN FRANCISCO – Xenesis is preparing to put in an optical communications hub for patrons of Bartolomeo, Airbus’ external research platform on the International Space Station.
“Airbus is working with Xenesis to offer broadband data downlink capability to its customers on the Bartolomeo space platform,” Manfred Jaumann, Airbus Defence and Space head of low-Earth orbit and suborbital programs, told by email. “This capability has been foreseen from the start of the platform development and would now be realized with the Xen-Hub terminal.”
Illinois-based Xenesis plans to ship the Xen-Hub optical flight terminal to Airbus in November for launch on an ISS industrial resupply mission. After installation in February 2025 and testing, Xenesis will begin providing communications services by the tip of the second quarter of 2025, said Xenesis CEO Mark LaPenna.
Bartolomeo customers focused on Earth remark are “contributing to the necessity for broadband communications with the bottom,” Steimle said. “Airbus and Xen-Hub will provide the optical communication solution which is able to open up broadband data downlink capability on the ISS between many users in parallel.”
The Bartolomeo mission is vital for Xenesis since it’s “a full-blown industrial agreement with a main contractor,” LaPenna said. Plus, “all ISS tenant agencies, firms and residents will profit from using a ten [gigabit per second] connection,” he added.
SmallSat Applications
Through Bartolomeo service, Xenesis intends to exhibit optical communications technology for Intercessor, an optical mesh network for data backhaul.
A miniature, unidirectional version of Xen-Hub “will allow small satellite builders and operators to utilize a 5 [gigabit per second] persistent link for live data transfer to one in every of three Xen-Hub equipped Intercessor satellite constellations,” LaPenna said. “A chief use case could be live imagery.”
Optical communications could, for instance, speed up data transfer for presidency agencies involved with border security including the Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and state national guards, allowing swift interdiction at any point of intrusion, LaPenna said.
Alternative Optical Comms
Airbus subsidiary Tesat announced plans in 2018 to work with the Institute for Communication and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center to ascertain a high-capacity optical terminal to hurry up data transfer from ISS to the bottom.