Kepler builds optical network in space

• Canadian firm Kepler Communications has successfully launched its first optical relay satellites 
• The satellites will enable data networking in space and offer storage and compute capacity for the provision of datacentre services in orbit

Toronto-based satellite network operator Kepler Communications has launched its first set of low-earth orbit (LEO) optical relay satellites that will form the first leg of its planned optical data relay network in space. 

The company, which has raised about $200m in the past 10 years to support its strategy, launched 10 satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California over the weekend. 

Each satellite is equipped with high-capacity Space Development Agency (SDA)-compatible optical terminals and “multi-GPU on-orbit compute modules” that boast terabytes of storage: Combined, these technical capabilities can enable “low-latency data transfer, secure routing and edge processing directly in space,” according to the company. 

Future launches will “expand network capacity and introduce new capabilities, including 100Gbit/s optical technology designed for backward compatibility and alignment with emerging global standards,” noted the company.

Once operational, the network of optical relay satellites will “provide real-time connectivity, advanced computing and hosted payload capabilities, creating a cloud environment on orbit for critical commercial and sovereign space missions,” the company added. 

It expects the network to be used by commercial, government and defence sector customers: Axiom Space has purchased capacity on the satellites to enable it to offer datacentre services in space to its customers.  

Kepler Communications CEO Mina Mitry stated: “Our optical relay satellites make it possible for users to rapidly deploy their missions with a real-time, connected, cloud environment, fundamentally changing how data flows on orbit and what space systems can achieve for people and [the] planet.”

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV