SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) said satellite optical communications links offer significantly higher data rates and a lower interception probability than standard civilian and military radio frequency (RF) satellite communications and are vulnerable to electronic warfare, such as jamming, geo-location and interception.
Chorus aims to address the several limitations of satellite-based optical communications technology and open viable commercialisation pathways for new Satcom capabilities.
The new Chorus terminal is a hybrid optical/RF system, integrating an RF antenna and an optical telescope into a system called the AntennaScope and ensuring communications all the time.
|
|
A recent VIP demonstration day at the Department of Defence base showcased the testing and marked the practical conclusion of the two phases of the SmartSat CRC co-funded project.
The project was also supported by the Defence Science Technology and Group (DSTG). It was tested at the guild’s laser range.
The test also included designing and building a ‘pseudo-satellite’ to prove the hybrid RF-Optical aperture worked as designed.
EM Solutions provided Cobra maritime Satcom terminal, which allowed the project to manufacture possibly the world’s first coaxial hybrid RF-Optical aperture, the AntennaScope.
"By combining RF communications with the more secure optical communication technology, Chorus has enabled the development of an entirely new class of satellite communications terminal. Existing military systems could be retrofitted with this new technology, eliminating much of the cost of replacing terminals across military vehicles and ships," said SmartSat CRC CEO professor Andy Koronios.
Funded by SmartSat CRC, the technology embedded in this prototype has been entirely developed in Australia by the DSTG and industry and academic partners, EOS Space Systems and EM Solutions, Lyrebird Antenna Research, Shoal Group, Australian National University and University of South Australia, following three years of research.
This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 10 May 2023.
