Integration of Umbra's Optical Intersatellite Terminal with the SDA Transport Layer

Umbra offers a prototype solution that leverages a high data rate optical link between a low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) hosted on Umbra’s satellite bus with the SDA Transport Layer. Umbra’s concept implements a design leveraging the flight-proven AES-256 encryption heritage with the inherent security advantages of using a low beam width optical link.   Umbra’s integration with the SDA Transport Layer means that observations in Areas of Interest (AOIs) in theater can be downlinked to tactical nodes for processing, fusing, and exploitation without relaying on a direct downlink to a ground terminal in theater. Providing the data of the SDA Transport Layer increases the number of end users with access to the data and reduces the complexity of integration the space segment link with multiple types of ground apertures. The development of a low SWaP-C optical ISL terminal allows Umbra to provide data to the mesh network nearly instantaneously after observation.