Via Satellite: Space Lasers Come of Age: Optical Communications for Satellites Are Ready for Prime Time
CACI is betting on it heavily. In December, the company completed its acquisition of SA Photonics, a company that Wood says was strongly positioned to address the mass market for optical communications that will be created by the LEO mega-constellations. And this isn’t the first investment that the $6 billion a year contracting giant has made in the field. Wood’s own career at CACI began when his employer, LGS Innovations, a former Bell Labs spinoff specialized in optical and other high security communications technology for national security agencies, was bought three years ago. And CACI is far from alone. Projections from satellite consulting firm NSR say that the market for laser communication terminals for satellites will be worth $3 billion over the next ten years.