Laser beaming to drive next generation of satellite constellations

05 Nov 2025

US Air Force provides Michigan with $2 million to enable orbiting satellites to share power and control by laser.

Large-scale satellite constellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper, exchange information at high speeds over new laser-interlink technologies, while each individual satellite is effectively an island in terms of its power and propulsion systems.

Now a new effort led by the University of Michigan (Engineering) and funded with $2 million from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) is aiming to improve on that by “harnessing the interlinks for power and momentum transfer, as well”.

The Michigan (U-M) announcement this week states, “Satellite constellations have transformed communication across the globe while also advancing navigation and Earth observation, needed for applications like weather forecasting and disaster recovery. They operate as teams to gather and relay information, but each carries its own fuel and propulsion system to stay positioned correctly.”

Sharing momentum with laser light could enable satellites to move without onboard fuel, while sharing energy can be used to enhance the efficiency of existing propulsion systems. Integrating these new operating modes with existing data transfer technology is the aim of the three-year project, called Orbital Architectures for Cooperative Laser Energetics – or “ORACLE”.

Christopher Limbach, U-M assistant professor of aerospace engineering, who leads the project, commented, “We are now at a moment where expanding cooperation between satellites via laser links can create capabilities we have never seen before. By integrating data, power and momentum sharing into a single laser-based framework, ORACLE could transform constellations from collections of independent satellites into dynamic, interconnected systems.

Limbach said, “These new capabilities will improve the sustainability and lifetimes of space missions and make them more resilient to disruptions such as space weather. They will also make satellite constellations easier to reconfigure and facilitate the repositioning or removal of space debris.”

Four approaches

The team is addressing the challenge on four fronts:

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  Inspecting a tomographic interferometry optical system. Click for info.

  Next-generation materials that allow satellites to efficiently convert laser beams into usable power while also serving as communication channels or solar power converters. This area is led by Seth Hubbard, an expert in designing and fabricating advanced photovoltaic materials and head of physics and astronomy at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
• Techniques that enable multiple laser beam bounces between satellites, amplifying the thrust provided by light for propellant-free maneuvering. This research thrust is led by Limbach, who brings expertise in how lasers may be used for space propulsion and power.
• Advanced control and stabilization algorithms to maintain precise laser links despite unpredictable space environments. Dennis Bernstein, a leader in control theory and vibration suppression and the James E. Knott professor of aerospace engineering at U-M, heads this effort.
• Constellation-level decision frameworks that allow thousands of satellites to cooperate, redistribute resources and execute maneuvers on an unprecedented scale. This effort is led by Giusy Falcone, U-M expert in astrodynamics and autonomous decision-making and assistant professor of aerospace engineering.