Jane Edwards
Mynaric will host and demonstrate its optical communications terminal on a functional testbed, dubbed Bartolomeo, on the International Space Station under a contract with Airbus’ U.S. space and defense business.
Mynaric said Thursday it will demonstrate and test a range of space-based laser communications use cases of its Condor Mk2 terminal, which will be hosted on the Airbus-built Bartolomeo External Payload and Science Hosting Facility linked to the European Space Agency’s Columbus laboratory.
Tim Deaver, vice president for strategic solutions at Mynaric, said hosting the optical communications terminal on the Bartolomeo platform will enable the company to “showcase and, in time, offer our customers an extended range of demonstration and experimental mission scenarios.”
“This experience will further help them explore the utility of our products, refine and accelerate various deployment strategies for laser communications technology at large and build our operational heritage in space,” Deaver added.
Mynaric said it expects the terminal to be part of the orbiting laboratory’s resupply mission in fall 2022.
