Empower Space Operations with Optical Communication Technology

Increasing satellite connectivity demands are pushing the move to optical, or laser, communication. Astrolight Co-Founder Dalius Petrulionis weighs in on the latest tech and products.

Alix Paultre

Dalius Petrulionis

Related To:

Electronic Design

Sept. 22, 2026

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What you'll learn:

For sovereign space networks to remain competitive, they need optical communication technology.
How the industry is moving in the direction of optical connectivity.

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Space capabilities are all part of Europe’s strategic push to reduce its reliance on foreign space services. However, building infrastructure is only part of the challenge: For sovereign space networks to remain competitive, they must use optical communication.

Global satellite connectivity demand will increase significantly, while less than 10% of all data generated in orbit currently reaches Earth. That’s largely due to limited downlink bandwidth and scarce spectrum availability in conventional communication systems.

Optical communication addresses both constraints. Unlike traditional radio-frequency communication, it uses narrow and highly focused beams of light that enable up to 100X higher data transmission rates and make links harder to detect, jam, or intercept. Laser communication can also reduce dependence on congested radio-frequency spectrum, where operators face regulatory scrutiny, licensing delays, and interference bottlenecks.

We talked with Dalius Petrulionis, Co-Founder and CTO of Astrolight, about laser communications and the company’s products in this space.

About the Author

Alix Paultre

Editor-at-Large, Electronic Design

An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the US military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications in the embedded electronic engineering space. Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Also check out his YouTube watch-collecting channel, Talking Timepieces.

Dalius Petrulionis

Co-Founder and CTO, Astrolight

Dalius Petrulionis is an opto-electronics engineer with over 10 years of experience in the design and development of high-power ultra-short pulse lasers (100 fs – 200 ps, 80 W, > 1 mJ), obtained while working at Light Conversion and nine years of experience in fast pulse and RF electronics obtained while working in Vilnius University and Light Conversion.

He has designed novel high-speed electro-optic modulators and their driving electronics as well as investigated acoustic damping methods for electro-optic modulators. In 2023 Dalius received a nomination from The Photonics 100: The industry’s most innovative people for his achievements in free-space optical communications and control methods for regenerative amplifiers.

As a CTO, his technical vision and engineering enthusiasm is one of the key driving forces behind Astrolight, while his deep knowledge, curiosity and a grain of engineering scepticism helps the company challenge the established norms.