Australia’s LatConnect 60 has signed a commercial agreement with Transcelestial to provide an optical communications terminal aboard the SWIRSAT-1 mission, along with access to a network of optical ground stations that will transmit data from orbit to the ground and operate the stations. The agreement aims to accelerate the transmission of remote-sensing imagery to LatConnect 60’s processing environment and then to its customers.
The terminal supports transmission rates of up to 10 gigabits per second, while Transcelestial’s network currently includes two operational ground stations in Singapore and Spain, with the goal of increasing the number to five or six stations by the end of 2026. Under the service model, LatConnect 60 receives the space-based terminal, ground connectivity, data transport and continuous operations, rather than financing, building and licensing its own optical communications segment.
A Higher-Capacity Data Path
The article explains that a typical X-band link on a small satellite operates at approximately 100 megabits per second and can transmit about 5 gigabytes during a seven-minute pass. By contrast, Transcelestial’s optical service at 1 gigabit per second transmits about 50 gigabytes during the same period, while the 10-gigabit-per-second speed increases the amount to approximately 500 gigabytes.
This capacity is particularly important for the SWIRSAT mission, which relies on high-resolution imaging in the shortwave infrared, or SWIR, band. Faster data transmission reduces the need to compress images aboard the satellite, a process that can affect power consumption and data accuracy before the data reaches the ground.
What Changes in Practice?
LatConnect 60 will retain mission-tasking rights, data ownership and control over delivery to customers, while Transcelestial will handle the transport layer between the satellite and the processing environment. The company likens the arrangement to providing direct optical fiber from orbit to the ground, but without the spectrum-licensing requirements associated with radio-frequency links.
According to Transcelestial, the narrow, directed optical beam makes signal interception more difficult, and it is not subject to broad-spectrum radio interference in the same way as traditional wireless links. The company says its post-quantum encryption system, in production since March 2026, adds protection against quantum threats at the application level.
Distributing ground stations across multiple locations can also support service continuity; if weather conditions close one station, the connection can be redirected to another station or held until the next pass window. According to the article, the network uses adaptive transmission rates and forward error correction to improve performance as the communications geometry changes during a pass.
The Next Step for the SWIRSAT Constellation
LatConnect 60 is building an integrated chain that includes mission tasking, satellite-based sensing, onboard processing, analytics and direct data delivery. The roadmap includes launching two SWIRSAT satellites in the first quarter of 2027, followed by reaching a constellation of 18 satellites by 2029. The constellation is supported by the Australian Space Agency and the Government of Western Australia.
The agreement represents the second Australian mission to use a Transcelestial optical link after its integration with Gilmour Space. A Transcelestial terminal entered orbit and was operated as part of the 6G StarLab mission, while the company is targeting production of more than 100 optical terminals per month at its own facility, enabling the network to serve multiple missions simultaneously.