One of the most ambitious goals of modern astronomy is to uncover signs of extraterrestrial biological activity, primarily achieved through spectroscopic analysis of light emitted by exoplanets to identify specific atmospheric molecules. Most exoplanets are indirectly identified through techniques like transit or Doppler shift of the host star's flux. Long-term surveys have yielded statistical insights into the occurrence rates of different planet types based on factors such as radius/mass, orbital period, and the spectral type of the host star, initial estimates of terrestrial planets within the habitable zone have also emerged. However, the difficulty of detecting light from these exoplanets leaves much unknown about their nature, formation, and evolution. As the number of rocky exoplanets around nearby stars rises, questions about their atmospheric composition, evolutionary trajectory, and habitability increase. Direct measurement of an cxoplanct's atmospheric composition through its spectral signature in the infrared can provide answers. Measuring the infrared spectrum of these planets poses significant challenges due to the star/planet contrast and very small angular separation from their host stars. Previous research showed that space-based telescopes are mandatory, and unless large primary mirrors (>30m in diameter) can be sent into space, intcrfcrometric techniques become essential. Combining light from distant telescopes with interferometric techniques allows access to information at minimal angular separation, operating within the diffraction limit of individual telescopes. Successful demonstrations of on-ground nulling interferometry open a new era for such space-based missions. They are vital to sidestep and tackle these scientific questions. We recently initiated a new study with the European Space Agency to explore the design parameters and the performances related to an interferometric concept based on a single spacecraft and sparse multiple sub-apertures. Launch constraints are linked to the use of an Ariane 6 launch vehicle. Our parametric study covers a range of 1-4 m for the diameter of the telescope and a 10-60 m baseline. The most promising concept working in the infrared range (3-20μm) will be highlighted. This study is conducted by TUDelft in cooperation with KULeuven, CSL/ULiege, and Amos with the support of the European Space Agency.

Laser satellite communication technologies are promising next-generation communications systems, offering higher data rates, more secure links, and cost-effective operations. One of the remaining challenges to tackle for ensuring sufficient link availability is atmospheric turbulence. While turbulence effects on laser links can be partly compensated for with corrective technologies and algorithms, these methods would benefit from better knowledge of turbulence profiles on the communications channel, both for system design or real-time assistance during operations. As state-of-the-art turbulence profilers are not designed to measure profiles from a laser beam on a moving satellite, this paper proposes a line-of-sight turbulence profiling tool tailored for laser satellite communications. Speckle-based turbulence observation and reconstruction via machine learning uses surrogate learning to build a model that can reconstruct optical turbulence profiles (C_n²(h)) from a single shot measurement of a speckle pattern. In this paper, the first modeling results of this flexible approach demonstrate that eight-layer turbulence profiles can be reconstructed from simulated single speckle images of a star with less than 10% error on the Fried parameter.

Traditional laser communication terminals are limited to point-to-point links, which constrains their scalability and flexibility for global networks that require simultaneous connections with multiple targets. While multiple single-beam terminals can expand capacity, this approach multiplies Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaPC), limiting scalability. Multi-beam laser communication terminals offer a promising alternative, though the design of an effective beam steering system remains a key challenge. This paper explores the design process of such a system, providing an overview of multi-beam steering literature as well as an comparison and trade-off of existing space-borne multi-beam steering technologies. It also analyzes insights from related fields such as terrestrial laser communications, LiFi, single-beam laser communication, optical cross-connects, radio links, and multiple target tracking. Key system functions are identified and visualized in a function flow diagram, and various design options are evaluated, culminating in a design options tree which serves as a design recipe. Two application scenarios, involving high and low target densities, demonstrate that steering systems based on micro-mirror arrays and spatial light modulators present significant advantages over alternatives. This study offers a comprehensive framework for designing multi-beam steering systems for space-based laser communication terminals.

To support the development of free-space-optical (FSO) communication technologies, an end-to-end physical layer model of a satellite communication service was developed. This service involves physical processes spanning multiple time scales: hours (relative platform dynamics), minutes (link selection, atmospheric attenuation), milliseconds (atmospheric turbulence, platform disturbances), and nanoseconds (photon and bit transportation). The modified multi-scale method (MMM) was used to combine the physics of these processes and to model an end-to-end global FSO communication service between an airborne platform and a satellite constellation. The method provides a better understanding of physical interdependencies, allows performance analysis on multiple time scales, and enables valuable insight into where to optimize such a service. The results show realistic performance metrics when compared to other smaller-scale models and demonstrations. The MMM can be used as a mission performance indicator of an end-to-end satellite communication service.

Tip-tilt pre-compensation adds a significant performance improvement for uplink optical communications channels, such as optical feeder-links. Besides the large contribution of tip-tilt to the wavefront disturbances, tip-tilt aberrations are less sensitive for the point ahead angle than higher order aberrations. Nevertheless, reciprocity between downlink and uplink is not perfect, resulting in residual pointing errors. One effect is the difference in beam shape: the downlink can be considered as a plane wave, whereas the uplink typically is a Gaussian beam. To improve reciprocity between up and donwlink, I propose to use a Gaussian apodization filter inn the part of the downlink beam that is used for measuring tip-tilt. This idea is tested using a numerical wave propagation simulation. In this simulation the reduction of beam wander is 13% and 20% is observed in the direction of the point ahead angle, and its transversal direction respectively. Also, it reduced the scintillation index by 8%. This yielded an improvement of the optical link by 1.5 dB at a probability of 10^-3,.

The spatial diversity and beam shaping are key approaches to mitigating the effects of atmospheric turbulence on laser beam propagation through free space. This study investigates the propagation characteristics of an annular beam array in atmospheric turbulence for uplink satellite links using the extended Huygens-Fresnel principle and the Rytov method. Analytical derivations are presented for various optical parameters, including received intensity, kurtosis parameter, beam footprint size, Strehl ratio, beam wander, scintillation index, and bit error rate (BER), to evaluate the beam performance under turbulence conditions. The findings indicate that converting a Gaussian beam into an annular shape enhances performance, with further improvements observed as the number of beams increases.

Laser satellite communications is a growing market for telecommunications services and secure communications. Due to the small footprint of the beam, it provides security, and it can serve as inherently safe communication, using the quantum properties of light, i.e. quantum communications, and quantum key distribution. For quantum communications, the detector sensitivity is of utmost importance. Hence, detector technologies such as Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector (SNSPD), are designated to support optical communications. In this research, we estimate the efficacy of SNSPD arrays for optical downlinks to earth. In this paper, we investigate how spatial resolution of the SNSPD and the spatiotemporal statistics of the incoming turbulence can be matched, in order to effectively use SNSPD arrays. We simulated the downlink using a split-step approach, using a receiver aperture of 1 m and a Fried parameter of 50 and 12.5 cm (D/r₀ is 2 and 8). We obtained the average intensity, the scintillation index, the probability density function (PDF) and the power spectral density (PSD) using 4000 samples. We project instantaneous images on the SNSPD, to estimate how the PSD is distributed. We conclude that stronger turbulence conditions could improve detection performance, because the point spread function (PSD) is wider, and the incident light is distributed over more pixels.

When using Radio Frequency aboard small satellites, for high data rates, this would need large antennas, violating constraints related to size, weight, and power. As an alternative, Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) uses laser beams, operating in the optical and infrared frequency domain, in order to transmit data through the atmosphere between satellites and ground stations. However, implementing FSOC systems on (small) satellites remains challenging. In this paper, we investigate the role of phase shifting in FSOC systems. The functionality of these phase shifters is used for modulation, beam steering using optical phased arrays, and phase stabilization of the transmit and receive beams. This is where Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC)-based platforms could offer a solution. Their extremely compact form factor makes them ideal for space applications. Phase shifters embedded within PIC-based platforms offer a known solution by allowing dynamic manipulation of the phase of light. A specific setup, namely the use of hybrid AOMs, looks promising as other phase shifting techniques can suffer from several issues, such as being thermal sensitive, having non-linear effects and possible material degradation in the long-Term. As these devices come with their own challenges, this work identifies these shortcomings and focuses on the analysis and design of an efficient low-power miniaturized RF driving system, in combination with the design of an efficient hybrid AOM setup for phase shifting in a PIC environment.

For free-space optical communication or ground-based optical astronomy, ample data of optical turbulence strength (C 2 n) are imperative but typically scarce. Turbulence conditions are strongly site dependent, so their accurate quantification requires in situ measurements or numerical weather simulations. If C 2 n is not measured directly (e.g., with a scintillometer), C 2 n parameterizations must be utilized to estimate it from meteorological observations or model output. Even though various parameterizations exist in the literature, their relative performance is unknown. We fill this knowledge gap by performing a systematic three-way comparison of a flux-, gradient-, and variance-based parameterization. Each parameterization is applied to both observed and simulated meteorological variables, and the resulting C 2 n estimates are compared against observed C 2 n from two scintillometers. The variance-based parameterization yields the overall best performance, and unlike other approaches, its application is not limited to the lowest part of the atmospheric boundary layer (i.e. the surface layer). We also show that C 2 n estimated from the output of the Weather Research and Forecasting model aligns well with observations, highlighting the value of mesoscale models for optical turbulence modeling.