CubeSat Establishes Laser Link With Earth, Paving Way for Faster Data From Small Satellites
The Greek-developed ERMIS-3 minisatellite has completed a successful laser communication test with a ground station. The technology will allow small satellites to send large amounts of data much faster than with traditional radio communications.
The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that the ERMIS-3 CubeSat, developed by the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, established a link with an optical ground station. Experts stress that it is an important step toward using optical communications in small satellites.
The test used optical terminals developed by the Lithuanian company Astrolight. The satellite connected with the Holomondas ground station (HolOGS-1) in Greece, developed by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The test took place just a few weeks after the satellite’s onboard systems had been checked out in orbit. The quick connection showed that one of the project’s main goals is achievable: precisely aiming the laser, detecting the signal and tracking the receiver.
ERMIS-3, launched on March 30, 2026, together with the ERMIS-1 and ERMIS-2 satellites, is part of a larger program to test orbital communications technologies for small satellites. Specialists explain that optical communications could help transmit the growing volumes of data gathered during space missions, including Earth observation.
Such missions produce, among other things, high-resolution and hyperspectral images that must be sent to Earth.
The challenge is that establishing and maintaining a connection is technically difficult. The beam must be aimed precisely at the receiver, while the satellite moves along its orbit at a speed of several kilometers per second. Both terminals must therefore not only detect the signal but also continuously track each other during a brief communication window.
Weather adds further complications: clouds can block the connection entirely, and air turbulence can degrade signal quality.
The mission is part of Greece’s National Space Program, carried out by the European Space Agency on behalf of the Greek government.
ESA provided technical support for the ERMIS-3 mission, including environmental testing and precise alignment of the optical system’s components, carried out at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands.
Marek Matacz (PAP)
