Gilmour Space selects Transcelestial lasers to unlock high speed satellite communications for the AI-era

Media release

The first step will involve an upcoming mission to qualify Transcelestial’s terminal for integration on Gilmour’s satellite platform. The strategic collaboration will also explore the launch of an Optical Ground Station in Queensland, Australia.

SINGAPORE, 3 FEB 2026: Gilmour Space Technologies and Transcelestial have entered a long-term strategic partnership to bring laser communications capabilities to advance how data moves on satellites.

As part of an upcoming mission, Gilmour Space will fly a Transcelestial terminal and support an in-orbit demonstration designed to validate the performance of wireless laser communications in real operating conditions.

“Satellites are not just sensors in orbit anymore but are becoming full blown orbital data centers, and the network layer is now falling behind. I am proud to share that industry leaders like Gilmour Space are thinking ahead and partnering with us to change that for the AI-era. Gilmour Space’s satellite capabilities are rapidly expanding and their bus is going to be one of the first in the world to be laser comms enabled by default. This capability puts them ahead of most bus manufacturers in the world and we are quite excited to see what this unlocks for the industry. To solidify that, we are also rapidly launching our first demonstration this year. Super excited to work with the Gilmour team,” said Rohit Jha, CEO and Co-Founder of Transcelestial.

The planned flight comes as satellite operators face a growing mismatch between how much data spacecraft can collect and how quickly they can deliver it to users on the ground, especially as sensors become more capable, data and connectivity workloads become more bandwidth and time-sensitive.

Transcelestial’s laser communications technology unlocks a new infrastructure layer for data to move from satellite-to-satellite and satellite-to-ground, also delivering unmatched security in the point to point communication which is impervious to jamming and has baked in Post Quantum Cryptography enabled for Quantum-safe communications.

The terminal delivery is scheduled for May 2026, ahead of the planned demonstration to be launched on the SpaceX Transporter-18 mission later in the year.

Beyond the initial downlink demonstration, the companies plan to explore how optical links can support future satellite networking needs, including satellite-to-satellite connectivity to enable more resilient, lower-latency constellations.

They will also explore opportunities to strengthen the enabling infrastructure around optical communications, including the potential to co-host an Optical Ground Station in Queensland and jointly pursue Australian R&D grants for future demonstrator missions and super advanced network capabilities.

Mark Grimminck, Head of Satellites at Gilmour Space said: “One of the key limitations in satellite operations is data transmission from the platform to the ground. Laser communication links are one of the clearest paths to relieve that bottleneck, and our collaboration with Transcelestial is about proving how it performs in real operations. We’re focused on making it easier for satellite customers to adopt next-generation communications options without taking on unnecessary integration risk.”

### About Transcelestial:

Transcelestial has mass-produced a solution for superfast global Internet distribution that leverages its proprietary wireless laser communication technology to create a wireless distribution network between buildings, traditional cell towers, street-level poles and other physical infrastructure – with a much lower total operating cost for Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers and enterprises.

Transcelestial aims to develop a constellation of LEO satellites allowing their laser network to not only connect inter-cities but upwards in space to connect continents globally. Transcelestial has won numerous industry and global awards such as Most Frontier Company by Asiastar10x10,

SPIFFY San Andreas Award for Most Disruptive Technology by Telecom Council, Forbes 30 Under 30 to their CTO Dr. Mohammad Danesh, Edge 35 Under 35 to their CEO Rohit Jha, The Most Ambitious Start-Up in Photonics Award by The Optical Society (OSA).

About Gilmour Space:

Gilmour Space Technologies is an Australian launch services company delivering dedicated and

rideshare launch and satellite services for global commercial, civil, and defense customers. The company is developing Eris, Australia’s first sovereign orbital launch vehicle, and ElaraSat, a scalable satellite platform for Earth observation, communications, and technology demonstration. It also operates the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in North Queensland, the only licensed orbital launch facility in Australia.