The industrialization of laser communication has started to accelerate, and national-level capital has entered the market to invest in "Aurora Starcom" | Exclusive Report by Hard Krypton
Author | Lin Qingqing
Editor | Peng Xiaoqiu
Yingke has learned that the space laser communication enterprise "Aurora StarCom" has completed its Series A3 financing. This round of financing was led by China Development Science and Technology Venture Capital Co., Ltd. (referred to as "CDSTVC"). The funds from this round will be mainly used for the expansion of the mass - production line of laser communication terminals, the R & D of low - orbit constellation networking satellites, and the upgrade of the on - orbit technology verification service capabilities.
"Aurora StarCom" is an enterprise that Yingke has been continuously following. It was established in 2020 and is one of the few domestic commercial aerospace enterprises with the full - chain independent technical capabilities for on - board laser communication terminals. It focuses on breaking through the high - throughput data transmission bottleneck of satellite Internet constellations. The core product of "Aurora StarCom" is the self - developed on - board laser communication terminal, which covers scenarios such as same - orbit/different - orbit networking, satellite - to - ground links, and low - altitude networking. It has formed the JG - SPC - ZXJ (same - orbit) communication terminal for high - speed data backbone link construction and large - scale networking construction; the JG - SPC - 2ZT (different - orbit) communication terminal for multi - dimensional three - dimensional network construction; and the pod - type communication terminal for low - altitude communication construction. Its terminals support an adjustable rate from 100Mbps to 400Gbps, with a bit error rate better than 10⁻⁷, and the weight is controlled between 8kg and 15kg. Its products have been applied to remote sensing satellites, low - orbit test satellites, and special constellation missions of national ministries and commissions.
Currently, the global low - orbit satellite industry has entered an acceleration phase. Constellation plans such as SpaceX, Europe's IRIS², and Russia's "Sphere" have created an urgent demand for high - speed laser communication terminals. Traditional radio frequency communication is limited by the bandwidth bottleneck and the exhaustion of spectrum resources, making it difficult to support the data transmission needs of satellite constellations with tens of thousands of satellites. With its advantages of high - speed, no need for frequency band application, and high anti - interference, laser communication is gradually replacing traditional microwave communication and becoming the core technical solution for satellite Internet construction.
In the international competition pattern, the high - end market has long been dominated by Europe and the United States. SpaceX's Starlink in the United States has deployed more than 5,000 satellites and achieved an inter - satellite laser link of about 100 - 200Gbps. The European EDRS system has achieved a daily business data transmission of 50TB. The core pain point for domestic enterprises lies in the technical verification barrier. The extreme space environment places strict requirements on the reliability, radiation resistance, and long - term stable link establishment of terminals. Manufacturers lacking on - orbit measurement data find it difficult to enter the mainstream supply chain.
Based on this, "Aurora StarCom" attempts to break the technical deadlock by promoting systematic on - orbit verification. During the on - orbit period of the "Aurora Constellation 01/02 Satellites" launched in 2024, 14 extreme environment tests were completed. The measured parameters include: stable link establishment at an ultra - long distance of 5,100 kilometers (lasting for 1 hour and 48 minutes, with the laser beam passing through the Earth's curved surface and the stratosphere); autonomous re - capture within 2.12 seconds after link breakage. In the technology iteration in 2025, the communication terminals carried by the "Optical Transmission 01/02 Test Satellites" achieved 400Gbps on - orbit real - time transmission (tracking error < 5 microradians), maintained continuous communication for 116 hours at a distance of 1,150 kilometers, and completed inter - satellite data transmission at a rate of 10Gbps for nearly 5 days.
In addition, Wu Shaojun, the founder of "Aurora StarCom", introduced that the technical architecture of "Aurora StarCom" revolves around three core modules: streamlining the optical structure to reduce system complexity, real - time self - calibration of the optical path to ensure on - orbit pointing accuracy, and compacting the front - end optical path to reduce volume. The measured data shows that its multi - beam resonance imaging technology can control the optical axis correction error within 1 microradian; the anti - Doppler modulation and demodulation technology effectively suppresses signal distortion during high - speed movement; the self - developed scanning and tracking algorithm achieves a dynamic tracking accuracy of 3 microradians, which is ten times higher than the international common index of 30 microradians.
In terms of the industrialization process, Yingke has learned that after exploring the mass - production model by hitching a ride on the Yaogan - 43 satellite in 2024, the on - orbit verification scope of the "Aurora Constellation" has covered satellite distances from 260 to 5,100 kilometers, with a cumulative link establishment of more than 140 times. Currently, the annual production capacity of Aurora StarCom's automated production line is 200 sets, and the future goal is to expand it to 800 sets. Its terminal product matrix covers multiple orbit types and complex networking scenarios. The weight of the same - orbit networking terminal (JG - SPC - ZXJ series) is compressed to less than 8kg, 40% lighter than international counterparts; the bit error rate of the different - orbit terminal (JG - SPC - 2ZT series) is better than 10⁻⁷, which can meet the differentiated needs from low - orbit constellations to deep - space exploration.
In terms of the team, Wu Shaojun, the founder of "Aurora StarCom", is a doctor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He once served as the chief designer of the manned space project and presided over a national - level aerospace information system project worth more than 280 million yuan; Xue Jiang, the chief optical communication expert, once led the commercialization of Huawei's 400G optical modules; 70% of the R & D team members have more than ten years of experience in aerospace payload development and have participated in major projects such as the "Micius" quantum satellite and the "Tiangong - 2".
Views of the investor:
CDSTVC said: Space laser communication is one of the sectors with the highest technical barriers and the most prominent strategic value in the satellite Internet industry chain. As a leading enterprise in this field in China, Aurora StarCom has the full - stack self - developed technical strength in "optics, mechanics, electricity, heat, software, and communication", a clear product roadmap, and excellent on - orbit verification performance. We highly recognize Aurora StarCom's technical capabilities and development in the field of space laser and believe that the strategic vision and execution ability of its team can continuously promote the commercialization of relevant fields in the satellite Internet industry and the sustainable development of business models. This investment is the strategic implementation of China Development Financial Holdings Corporation in implementing the spirit of "investing in the early - stage, small - scale, long - term, and hard - core technology". We look forward to using Aurora StarCom as the main body of scientific and technological innovation to jointly promote the in - depth integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation and contribute to the construction of future industries.