Mitsubishi Electric Achieves All Success Criteria for Orbital Demonstration of the Laser Source Module for Space Optical Communication

Use of off-the-shelf components and nanosatellite help realize lower costs and faster development

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6503) announced today that all success criteria, including an additional success, were achieved without performance degradation during a six-month on-orbit demonstration of its laser source module after extensive evaluation. Mitsubishi Electric conducted the test last year with a module it developed using low-cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. This is the first time in the world that the performance degradation of optical components in a space environment has been evaluated.

To improve satellite communication, Mitsubishi Electric has been developing optical devices utilizing versatile, high-performance 1.5μm-wavelength lasers originally produced for land-based fiber-optic communication. After developing an optical receiver in May 2022, the company began developing a laser source module with COTS components for installation in a nanosatellite measuring only 10 x 10 x 34cm (WxDxH). The goals were to develop a laser source module capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of space, particularly radiation and thermal vacuum, and to demonstrate the module’s viability in less time and at lower cost than conventional products.

For the demonstration, the module was installed in the OPTIMAL-1 nanosatellite, which was developed through an industry-academia collaboration. The nanosatellite was launched early last year and an on-orbit demonstration of the module’s laser optical frequency control, critical for space communication, was carried out over a six-month period beginning in January 2023.

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