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Design of the Optical Communication Terminal for the Next-Generation LEO Satellite Constellation
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- Authors
- Kwon-Seob Lim, Man-Seok Uhm, Dong-Pil Chang
- Issue Date
- 2026-04
- Citation
- 한국우주과학회 학술 대회 (봄) 2026, pp.64-64
- Publisher
- 한국우주과학회
- Language
- Korean
- Type
- Conference Paper
- Abstract
- The era of global low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications has begun, led by SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which adopts an optical communication–based mesh network architecture. In addition, Amazon in the United States and Telesat in Canada are also developing large scale LEO satellite constellations to establish their own global satellite communication networks. In these systems, reliable high capacity optical communication terminals are key enabling technologies for achieving high- throughput and low-latency data relay in space. To support inter-operability, standardization activities for optical communication terminals are being actively pursued by the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) for both commercial and defense applications. In Korea, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has been developing an optical communication terminal for next- generation LEO satellite constellations since April 2024. The terminal is designed to support a data rate of 10 Gbps and operates at the 1,550 nm wavelength band. Link budget analysis shows that reliable 10 Gbps optical inter-satellite communication is achievable over distances of several thousand kilometers. This paper presents the current design status of the optical communication terminal and outlines the development plan for the coming year.
- KSP Keywords
- Communication networks, Development agency, Development plan, Enabling technologies, Key Enabling Technologies(KETs), Low Latency, Low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, Mesh Network, Network architecture, Next-generation, Optical communication terminals