Date: Jun 13, 2013 Author: press release Source: Company Data (
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Fayetteville, Ark. - June 13, 2013 - Space Photonics®, Inc., announced today it has been awarded a fifteen month, $332,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) to further develop their laser communications technology, LaserFire®, for secure point-to-point ground communications. SCHOTT North America Inc. and Harris Corporation partnered with Space Photonics in further developing and commercializing this technology.
The LaserFire® system uses inherently secure free space optical communication technology and has been proven to provide reliable communications at speeds up to 10Gbps. Space Photonics is working to extend the communication range to seven kilometers for fixed position, ground-based laser communication links and develop a scalable system to support longer range communications on mobile and space platforms. The resulting system is intended to overcome the limitations of traditional radio frequency (RF) communications and be suitable for deployment in the congested environments characteristic of military and commercial communications networks.
"This contract allows us to help the military solve communications problems they've identified by increasing bandwidth capacities and extending communication ranges," said Terry Tidwell, chief engineer of free space optics at Space Photonics®. "However, the applications of the LaserFire® system go well beyond the scope of this contract as it can be used in cellular data backhaul and Metro-Area Networks to support day-to-day communication networks in the commercial sector."
Contract research and development will take place at the Space Photonics® facilities in Fayetteville, AR. Final system manufacturing will take place at the SCHOTT North America facilities in Southbridge, MA. Harris Corporation will provide a dynamic buffering hybrid modem for system deployments.
About Space Photonics®, Inc.
Space Photonics, Inc., develops markets and sells high reliability optical networking systems for military and aerospace applications. For more than a decade, Space Photonics has provided innovative technologies and products to customers that have included the Air Force, Navy and NASA. These products include the patented LaserFire® free space optical communications systems, radiation-hardened FireFiber® fiber optic transceivers and high capacity real-time FireRing® data handling networks.
