WORK Microwave Selected as Prime Contractor for a Turn-Key Optical Ground Station in the US

WORK Microwave, a leading European manufacturer of advanced satellite ground station equipment for commercial and defence applications, is pleased to announce that it has been selected by a major operator of ground station networks to deliver a turn-key Digital Optical Ground station (DOG) for a US government program which requires secure and resilient optical space-to-ground communication via laser link.

The ground network operator selected WORK Microwave, as they are a first-of-its-kind provider of turn-key optical ground stations and have proven their expertise at an early-phase optical ground station in Europe.

For this project with the US government, WORK Microwave provides a turn-key, fully equipped Digital Optical Ground station, including system integration, design, and installation and training services. It includes the full DOG suite of equipment exclusively developed by WORK Microwave, including the new Multi-Mission Optical Modem provided in parallel into the M3O project of the European Space Agency ESA, the Optical Detector, the Optical Amplifier for the uplink, and a telescope from a top-tier partner. The units support CCSDS and SDA standards.

“We are excited that we were selected as prime contractor and are dedicated to providing the best and most comprehensive services together with our renowned project partners,” said Thomas Fröhlich, CEO of WORK Microwave. “We have seen space-to-ground laser communication as a promising technology from the very beginning. For this reason, we developed an early-phase optical modem for an optical ground station in Europe, currently develop our new Multi-Mission Optical Modem for ESA’s M3O project, and we are eagerly contributing to the CCSDS working group. With this cornerstone project, we will take the next step in our innovation track record of optical ground equipment by implementing the SDA standard and delivering a turn-key DOG station.”