NEC has completed the design of equipment to be mounted on a technology demonstration satellite aimed at realizing Japan’s first optical communication satellite constellation. To demonstrate key elemental technologies for the future optical communication satellite constellation, such as optical communication, high-speed network routing design, and high-capacity millimeter-wave communication, NEC is developing a small technology demonstration satellite.

Next, the payload will be manufactured and integrated into the satellite’s common functional bus, with a launch into Earth orbit planned for fiscal year 2027.

The technology demonstration satellite will demonstrate radiation-hardened design for civilian optical transceivers. It will also conduct demonstrations of high-speed network routing processing technology in space.

In satellite constellations where numerous satellites work together, the adoption of optical communication instead of conventional wireless is considered promising for inter-satellite communication to avoid communication interference and achieve high-capacity data transmission. However, shortening development and manufacturing periods and reducing costs are essential for mounting optical communication equipment on numerous small satellites. Therefore, it is crucial to utilize high-performance, high-function, and mass-production-proven general-purpose technologies available on the ground.

Furthermore, in optical communication satellite constellations, which consist of tens to thousands of satellites and function as a dynamic mesh network moving at high speed, high computing power is required for routing processing that enables low-latency, high-capacity communication in orbit.

Therefore, high-performance applications are needed that differ from routing designs based on ground network environments.

Based on this background, the company will conduct demonstrations of elemental technologies aimed at solving these challenges.

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