Frankfurt (Germany), 9 September 2025. DE-CIX and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) are researching innovative solutions to optimize communication with LEO satellite constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO). The world's leading Internet Exchange operator and the DLR are working together to determine how information and data can be transmitted more reliably between space and Earth using laser links. As part of the European Space Agency (ESA) OFELIAS project, the work aims to develop protocols, algorithms, and procedures by July 2026 that intelligently optimize network utilization between optical ground stations and satellites, thereby reducing problems caused by atmospheric turbulence and cloud blockage. Although lasers allow for more bandwidth and higher data rates, they are also more susceptible to clouds, fog, and rain than conventional radio transmissions.
New approaches for weatherproof laser communication
“We are working together to find ways to increase the availability of optical satellite networks for end users,” says Hermann Bischl, Project and Group Manager at the DLR Institute of Communication and Navigation. “All-optical transmission presents us with particular challenges, which we aim to overcome through innovative approaches to signal processing and network control.”
“We want to make optical satellite communications so robust and reliable that they can be seamlessly integrated into existing terrestrial networks and can thus play a crucial role in the connectivity of the future,” says Matthias Wichtlhuber, Team Lead Research & Development at DE-CIX. “In collaboration with the DLR, we are evaluating the intelligent interconnection of satellites and ground stations with the Internet, based on our thirty years of experience in the field of network interconnection."
Interconnection of satellite operators: the basis for networked applications in space
The research conducted by DLR and DE-CIX is an important building block for the digital infrastructure of tomorrow. Whether artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, or humanoid robots – applications such as these require extremely low latency times, sometimes in the single-digit millisecond range. As space becomes increasingly important as an economic area, the demands on digital infrastructure in orbit and beyond are also growing. “Concepts from DE-CIX such as Space-IX are based on the technologies that the OFELIAS project is now helping to develop,” says Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “LEO satellites play a key role in providing people and applications everywhere on Earth with information and connectivity. When operators connect to DE-CIX Space-IX, this not only enables direct access to content, cloud, and application networks, but also creates the basis on which future business models between Earth and space can be built. Together with partners like the DLR, we are working on various projects to lay the foundations – not only on Earth but also in space – required for the satellite communications of the future.”