Google has spun out a new laser communication company called Aalyria. It will manage a hyper-fast, ultra-secure, and highly complicated communications networks that span land, sea, air, near space, and deep space.
Aalyria will “radically” enhance satellite communications, airplane Wi-Fi, and other forms of cellular connectivity. It is also stated that the spinout has already signed an $8.7 million federal military contract.
Software from the Loon group was transformed into a cloud-based platform called Spacetime. It is for controlling intricate networks that link objects like satellites, aircraft, and boats with high-speed internet.
Ex-Google products was repurposed by another division of the startup to produce a series of laser-based wireless networking hardware. This is called Tightbeam.
Aarlyria will interconnect everything that exists today with everything that exists tomorrow,” says Chris Taylor, Aalyria’s chief executive officer.
Data will be kept “intact across the atmosphere and weather and offered connectivity where no supporting infrastructure exists,” according to Aalyria’s “Tightbeam” light laser technology.
“Tightbeam substantially improves satellite communications, Wi-Fi on ships and aircraft, and cellular connectivity everywhere,” the company says.
Google will continue to hold a small investment in Aalyria, but it would not disclose how much of the firm it owns or how much outside funding it has received.
Tightbeam – ATMOSPHERIC LASER COMMUNICATIONS
Tightbeam is the world’s most advanced coherent light free space optics technology. At rates faster than any other solutions available today and covering greater distances than previously imagined, it moves data intact through the atmosphere and weather, and offers connectivity where no supporting infrastructure exists. Tightbeam radically improves satellite communications, Wi-Fi on planes and ships, and cellular connectivity everywhere.
Spacetime – NETWORK ORCHESTRATION SOFTWARE PLATFORM
Spacetime is a software platform for orchestrating networks of ground stations, aircraft, satellites, ships, and urban meshes. It optimizes and continually evolves the antenna link scheduling, network traffic routing, and spectrum resources — responding in realtime to changing network requirements. Spacetime operates networks across land, sea, air, and space, at any altitude or orbit type, supports all radio frequency bands and optical wavelengths, and it is designed for interoperability with legacy, hybrid space, 5G NTN and FutureG network architectures.
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These guys are just making FSOC terminals and distributing a network operations software stack. That’s it. No constellation, no service. With defense dudes on board, this smells like they want to sell FSOC terminals as aftermarket mods to vehicles and aircraft for the SDA constellation. Starlink and Kuiper already have or can source their own network stacks, and are building lasercomm terminals internally rather than buying from a vendor.
Being a Google spinout means they aren’t Google profitable.
Are you sure Kuiper will build its own Laser Terminals?
I did not make the above comment attributed to me.
Kesler Syndrome is only a few short years away….
P.S. The “Save my name, email, and website feature” doesn’t work. I have to enter all this every time I comment.
To me this sounds very close to Starlink, but with lasers instead of phased array antennae. The Starlink dishes already aim very precisely towards the passing by satellites and viceversa.
It’s already kind of a miracle how phased array antennae work and can be sold commercially, actually.
A laser solution will probably use a mix of phased arrays, optics and mechanical aim to reach a target on the ground or in orbit. Speaking of which, orbital targets are the most interesting, given they can have universal coverage and predictable position.
Is Google planning to launch its own constellation?
Will Google launch such a constellation through SpaceX? Or will they fund some rival space company to achieve their goals? The space race could use a boost from another deep-pocketed backer supporting a promising launch provider. The question is who?