Update on the German and Australasian Optical Ground Station Networks
ABSTRACT Networks of ground stations designed to transmit and receive at visible and infra‐red wavelengths through the atmosphere offer an opportunity to provide on‐demand, high‐bandwidth, secure communications with spacecraft in Earth orbit and beyond. This work describes the operation and activities of current free space optical communications (FSOC) ground stations in Germany and Australasia. In Germany, FSOC facilities are located at the Oberpfaffenhofen campus of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the Laser‐Bodenstation in Trauen (Responsive Space Cluster Competence Center, DLR), and the Research Center Space of the University of the Bundeswehr Munich in Neubiberg. The DLR also operates a ground station in Almería, Spain, as part of the European Optical Nucleus Network (EONN). The Australasian Optical Ground Station Network (AOGSN) is a proposed network of 0.5–0.7 m class optical telescopes located across Australia and New Zealand. The development and progress for each node of the AOGSN is reported, along with optimization of future site locations based on cloud cover analysis.
Authors
- Kenneth J. Grant (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6482-4170)
- Marcus Birch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6215-5900)
- Tony Travouillon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9304-6718)
- John Cater (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3233-4000)
- Robert T. Schwarz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6966-5460)
- Ed Kruzins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5171-7384)
- Andreas Knopp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7798-0535)
- Dirk Giggenbach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1720-3464)
- Kate Ferguson
- Sascha Schediwy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9928-1364)
- Francis Bennet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9797-1724)
- Marcus T. Knopp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6819-6279)
- Stephen J. Weddell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2345-0077)
- Andrew Lambert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0390-4446)
- Nicholas J. Rattenbury (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5069-319X)
- Jonas Rittershofer
- Oliver Thearle
- Kerry A. Mudge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1598-0737)
- Catherine Qualtrough (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6792-8599)
- Matthew J. Sellars (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0502-0444)
- Mikhael Sayat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3437-1200)
- Kevin Walker
- Samuele Raffa
- Shane Walsh
- Joseph Ashby
Institutions
- Australian National University (AU)
- Defence Science and Technology Group (AU)
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- University of Canterbury (NZ)
- University of Canberra (AU)
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) (DE)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- Universität der Bundeswehr München (DE)
- International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (AU)
- UNSW Canberra
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking
- Published
- 2025-03-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/sat.1564
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Optical Wireless Communication Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.46
Funders
- ACT Government
- European Commission
- University of Auckland
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
- Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
- Ministry of Defense
- Government of Western Australia
- European Regional Development Fund