The DARPA Space-BACN program aims to deliver seamless communication between government and commercial LEO satellite constellations, such as Telesat Lightspeed, Starlink and Kuiper, using Mbryonics’ StarCom optical terminal.
MBRYONICS has been selected by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the optical terminal, including the space telescope, the pointing, acquisition and tracking system and the optical amplifiers, as part of the Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-BACN) program.
The goal of Space-BACN is to create a reconfigurable, multi-protocol intersatellite optical communications terminal that is low in size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C), easy to integrate, and able to connect heterogeneous constellations that operate on different optical intersatellite link (OISL) specifications that otherwise would not be able to communicate.
Mbryonics, who participated in earlier development phases of the program, successfully delivered Phase 1 within 14 months, and were awarded this new Phase 2 contract for Technical Area 1 (TA) to design and deliver the Optical Terminal. Mybryonics will coordinate with TA2 (Modem) and TA3 (Satellite constellation operators) contractors over a 21-month period of performance to accelerate the development of Inter-Satellite Communications capable of connecting disparate LEO constellations using different communications protocols to cross-talk; ultimately aiming to create a high-speed internet in space.
John Mackey, CEO of Mbryonics, said, “Mbryonics’ goal is to power a trusted communications infrastructure delivering the internet in space and connecting us like never before. Digital Empowerment will pave the way for society to meet the greatest challenges of today and fulfil our ambitions for tomorrow. We take immense pride in DARPA’s selection of the Mbryonics team and our StarCom optical terminal. This collaboration supports the Space-BACN vision for seamless interconnectivity between government and commercial systems, fortifying a resilient space layer for JADC2 operations. We are delighted to be continuing this close collaboration with DARPA and our Space-BACN partners. This contract award solidifies Mbryonics’ leadership in industrial-edge optical communications, affirming our strategy of pioneering fiber-coupled photonic systems and leveraging proprietary advanced manufacturing processes and materials to deliver disruptive SWaP-C solutions, unparalleled data rates, and sustainable volume production.”