WASHINGTON — Mynaric’s laser communications terminals passed key ground tests required to be deployed on Space Development Agency satellites, the corporate announced Sept. 28.
The corporate’s CONDOR Mk3 terminal was chosen by Northrop Grumman, one in every of several manufacturers under contract to supply satellites for the Space Development Agency.
SDA, an agency under the U.S. Space Force, plans to deploy a mesh network of interconnected satellites. It features a Transport Layer that may transmit data collected by a Tracking Layer of missile-detection sensor satellites. Each spacecraft is provided with multiple laser communications terminals.
Optical terminals use lasers to attach satellites in orbit so that they can transfer data in space.
Mynaric’s terminals shall be integrated with Northrop Grumman’s 42 Transport Layer and 14 Tracking Layer Tranche 1 satellites to be produced over the subsequent two years.
The tests recently accomplished demonstrated technical performance and interoperability, said Joachim Horwath, founder and chief technology officer of Mynaric.
All optical terminals installed on SDA satellites need to comply with technical specifications and standards issued by the agency. Additionally they need to be interoperable with terminals made by other suppliers.
Mynaric confirmed that the CONDOR Mk3 that shall be on Northrop Grumman’s Tranche 1 satellites demonstrated interoperability with a CACI terminal that shall be on Lockheed Martin’s Tranche 1 satellites.
An initial round of tests conducted at Mynaric’s facilities in Munich, Germany, focused on pointing, acquisition, tracking and data transmission. The interoperability tests took place on the U.S. Naval Research Lab, the agency chosen by SDA to oversee optical communications testing.
“This milestone demonstrates that Mynaric products meet the SDA’s standards and are fully interoperable with other terminals implementing the identical standard,” said Mustafa Veziroglu, CEO of Mynaric.
Mynaric doesn’t have an exclusive agreement with Northrop Grumman. The CONDOR Mk3 terminal was chosen by Raytheon and other undisclosed SDA satellite manufacturers.
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Veziroglu said the corporate has a production backlog of about 370 terminals which are under contract. The optical heads are made in Germany and the electronic components in Hawthorne, California.
Louis Christen, director of Northrop Grumman’s proliferated space operations, said the corporate supported Mynaric throughout the testing process.
“SDA’s mission really demands that these terminals connect seamlessly and communicate seamlessly at a really high rate across the constellation,” Christen said. “So we view this as a vital event that retires one in every of the main technical risks on this system.”
Christen said Northrop Grumman chosen Mynaric for its production capabilities. “We’re on site at their factory constantly and we’ve been impressed with their facility and their overall readiness,” he said.
Each Northrop Grumman Transport Layer satellite has 4 optical terminals, and every Tracking Layer satellite has three.