🇸🇪 SSC Space advances optical communications: New ground station in Chile
March 10, 2026
SSC Space has announced that its new Optical Ground Station (OGS) at its Santiago site is now ready for operations. This cutting-edge technology, manufactured by Safran Space, complements traditional radio frequency links with laser-based optical links, offering higher data rates and enhanced security.
The new OGS provides narrow, directed beams that are difficult to intercept or jam, and are resilient to interference and cross-talk. It also offers multi-mission capability and bi-directional communications throughout 2026, with integrated modems supporting CCSDS and Space Development Agency (SDA) standards.
Operational trials of the SSC Space optical infrastructure began in Western Australia in early 2025, and with the installation in Chile, the network of two OGSs is now ready to support direct-to-Earth laser links.
“The station in Santiago is not just another node—it’s a leap forward,” said Hanna Sundberg, Optical Program Manager at SSC Space. “We’re moving satellite communications into a new era of speed, security, and resilience. As part of the NODES network, this station brings us closer to fulfilling tomorrow’s mission needs, with interference-resistant transmission capable of meeting heavy data demand.”
In line with SSC Space’s goal for carbon-neutral operations by 2040, the OGS is powered by a 624-panel solar array generating 350 kWh, which has already reduced the site’s carbon emissions by approximately 8%. With the Chile and Australia nodes now operational, SSC Space has invited pilot users and early adopters to begin testing the optical infrastructure for upcoming LEO missions.
The new station is part of the SSC Space optical service development project NODES within the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Optical and Quantum Communications – ScyLight program, designed to accelerate the development of optical ground capabilities.
For more information, visit SSC Space.
Originally published on March 10, 2026 by SSC Space.
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