{"id":45314,"date":"2025-12-02T16:28:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/?p=45314"},"modified":"2026-01-27T16:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T22:05:06","slug":"light-speed-science-und-leads-nation-with-pioneering-laser-communications-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.und.edu\/und-today\/2025\/12\/light-speed-science-und-leads-nation-with-pioneering-laser-communications-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"Light-speed science: UND leads nation with pioneering laser communications hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

State-funded facility positions North Dakota as national leader in next-generation satellite communications, research and workforce training<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"A
Markus Allgaier, assistant professor of Physics & Astrophysics at UND, sits behind an optical table in the Quantum Optics Research Group’s working lab in UND’s Witmer Hall. Photo by Jon Christopher Meyers Photography \/ StudioMeyers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Editor\u2019s note:\u00a0<\/strong>In the\u00a0UND LEADS Strategic Plan<\/a><\/strong>, the\u00a0Discovery<\/a><\/strong> core value calls on the University to \u201cfoster innovative teaching, applied learning, and transformative research that exemplifies discovery, as shown by experimenting, researching, drafting, writing, prototyping, rehearsing, etc.\u201d This story, which was originally published in UND Today on Dec. 2, reports on a UND project that\u2019s the very definition of transformative research.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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In a quiet basement room of Witmer Hall, between rows of stainless-steel optical tables and humming cryogenic equipment, UND Physics and Astrophysics Assistant Professor Markus Allgaier is helping build something unprecedented.<\/p>\n

Supported by the North Dakota Legislature and set to begin operations in 2026, UND\u2019s Free-Space Optical Communication Lab will house the first fully operational, university-operated laser communications ground station in the United States. More than a research venture, the facility is designed as a hands-on training environment for students and a testbed for government and industry partners.<\/p>\n

If all goes as planned, UND will reach a landmark distinction. \u201cWhen this is all operational, it will be the first civilian ground station that can use the new Space Development Agency standard,\u201d Allgaier explained.<\/p>\n

Brad Rundquist, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at UND, agreed.\u00a0\u201cThanks to the support of the North Dakota Legislature, the establishment of a laser communications ground station on campus puts UND at the forefront of next-generation space connectivity,” Rundquist said.<\/p>\n

“It empowers our students and researchers to lead in the technologies that are the future of high-speed, high-volume, secure and resilient space-to-ground communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why laser communications matter<\/h2>\n

Today, nearly all communication between satellites and Earth relies on radio frequency (RF) signals. RF is reliable \u2014 but slow.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, the bandwidth you get with RF is about your internet connection from 20 years ago,\u201d Allgaier said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little better than dial-up, but not by much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remote-sensing satellites collect terabytes of imagery and data every day, but they can only transmit \u201ca couple gigabytes\u201d to the ground over limited RF channels. \u201cThey can\u2019t downlink all the data,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot has to get processed and thrown out on orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laser (optical) communications, by contrast, operate at vastly higher frequencies and narrower beams. This enables data rates comparable to fiber-optic networks, even during the brief 5- to 10-minute window when a satellite passes overhead.<\/p>\n

In principle, a laser link could transmit terabytes in minutes, giving scientists richer access to climate, weather, agricultural or national-security data.<\/p>\n

NASA is already relying on optical links for its coming Artemis missions to the Moon. Streaming 4K video from lunar orbit \u2014 something impossible with RF \u2014 is only achievable with lasers, Allgaier noted.<\/p>\n

The Space Development Agency has likewise written a national standard for optical communications to be used on its next-generation satellite fleet \u2014 a standard the UND station is being built to match. As the SDA is building its ground stations, hardware for the standard is becoming commercially available, making it attractive for other users. And NASA recently announced that it might also adopt the SDA standard.<\/p>\n

\"Laser
From tabletops such as this one in the basement of Witmer Hall, UND’s Free-Space Optical Communication Lab will both originate laser communications to satellites and receive laser communications from them. Photo by Jon Christopher Meyers Photography \/ StudioMeyers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Inside the facility: A state-of-the-art research array<\/h2>\n

Although the station\u2019s telescopes will sit housed in a weather-protected enclosure on Witmer Hall\u2019s roof, the facility\u2019s heartbeat is in the basement. That\u2019s where laser systems, detectors, timing electronics and student workspaces fill the newly renovated lab.<\/p>\n

Custom-built optics and precision hardware<\/h2>\n

UND\u2019s setup will include:<\/p>\n