Thales Alenia Space to Develop SOLiS Very-high-throughput Laser Communications Demonstrator

Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has been selected by the French space agency CNES, as part of the space component of the France 2030 program launched by the French government, to develop a very-high-throughput laser communications demonstrator.

Called SOLiS — for Service Optique de Liaisons Spatiales Sécurisées (secure optical space link service) — this project aims to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of an optical communications service relying on geostationary satellites.

Such a service is designed to make intercontinental networks more resilient at a time when there is a growing number of acts of sabotage targeting land and undersea optical fiber links. Geostationary satellites offer an effective and cost-effective solution for ultra-secure transfers of large amounts of data between two users on Earth, delivering very high data rates of up to one terabit per second despite distances and atmospheric disturbances.

SOLiS harnesses technologies developed through the government-backed Optical Communications (CO-OP) project led by CNES and a group of 17 SMEs and large primes, and draws on the outcomes of demonstrations delivered for the VERTIGO project funded by the European Commission.

Thales Alenia Space will lead the SOLiS project consortium, composed of large industry primes and mid-tier firms (Safran Data Systems, Bertin Technologies, Exail, Keopsys), SMEs (Cedrat Technologies), startups (OGS Technologies, Reuniwatt), and a research center (ONERA), most of which have already worked on the CO-OP project.

SOLiS plans to develop an optical communications payload and a pilot ground station designed to demonstrate very-high-throughput laser communications. In accordance with a memorandum of understanding between Thales Alenia Space and operator Hellas Sat signed in 2024, this payload will be flown on the Hellas Sat 5 geostationary communications satellite, while the pilot ground station will be set up at the operator’s teleport in Cyprus. This station will communicate with CNES’s FROGS station already operating at the Côte d’Azur Observatory on the Mediterranean coast.

Building on the accomplishments of the CO-OP project, SOLiS will put French manufacturers — large primes, mid-tier firms, SMEs, and startups — at the forefront in space communications for the 2030s as they strive to address the challenges of security, resilience, fast data rates, and multi-orbit interoperability (between the ground, constellations, and geostationary satellites).

“We are delighted to be starting development of the payload for the optical communications system, marking a crucial step toward establishing a secure, very-high-throughput optical network,” said Alcino De Sousa, Executive VP, Telecommunications at Thales Alenia Space. “Satellite laser communications projects like SOLiS are set to usher in a new era in telecommunications services, driving development of multi-orbit communications networks.”