At Photonics West, direct-to-Earth (DtE) laser communications were confirmed as a key capability of the New Space ecosystem, now entering an operational deployment phase.
In this context, Miratlas presented its work on the mastery of atmospheric laser communications, enabling very high-throughput optical space-to-ground links (Tbps-class) and supporting the convergence between satellite networks and terrestrial telecommunications infrastructures.
Miratlas is currently the only company capable of characterizing atmospheric turbulence both during daytime and nighttime, a critical prerequisite to ensuring the performance and availability of space-to-ground laser links.
Accordingly, Miratlas shared the results of a long-term daytime turbulence measurement campaign conducted over more than one year, relying on SHABAR profilers deployed across eight European sites. This campaign highlighted the significant impact of the local environment on daytime atmospheric turbulence.
In parallel, Miratlas presented the status of the qualification and validation campaign of its C-DIMM instrument, dedicated to nighttime turbulence measurements. The initial results demonstrate an excellent correlation with a reference astronomical instrument.
These activities contribute to the development of a robust optical ground-space infrastructure, a necessary condition for the large-scale deployment of direct-to-Earth laser communications.
