SAN FRANCISCO – Relative Dynamics, a Massachusetts startup focused on optical communications, is growing rapidly thanks to recent government contracts.
“Since 2021 we have doubled in size annually in terms of people employed, projects and revenue, Kush Patel, Relative Dynamics founder and CEO, told SpaceNews.
When Laurel, Maryland-based Relative Dynamics was founded in 2011, the firm focused on engineering services. In 2016, the company expanded its research and development staff and began developing optical communications space and ground terminal technology independently.
Small Business Innovation Research awards followed. Recently, Relative Dynamics began developing an optical ground terminal under a $1.7 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Space Force Space Development Agency.
Relative Dynamics’ Ground Optical Communications Array Terminal, or GOCArT, is designed to send and receive transmissions from optical terminals on SDA Tranche 2 satellites as well as commercial satellites. SDA’s Transport Layer Tranche 2 is a tactical network to move data around the world.
Under a 2022 NASA SBIR, Relative Dynamics is exploring ways to improve the stabilization of images captured by large telescopes and other optical instrument platforms.
And the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Relative Dynamics and the Rochester Institute of Technology a Small Business Technology Transfer award in 2022 to create a telescope mirror that requires little if any adjustment for observing space objects.
Optical Comm Costs
One of Relative Dynamics’ goals is reducing the cost of optical communications. Engineers scrutinize individual components and redesign expensive parts and subsystems.
While optical components continue to cost more than radio frequency communications components, “our hope is that eventually” the costs will be similar, Patel said.
Engineering Services
Engineering…
Read the full article here