There's no denying that optical is the future of space communications, whether that be between ground and space, spacecraft to spacecraft, or even interplanetary. However, optical communication technologies are still new, and as a result they are often bulky, expensive, and inaccessible. The OKSat team aims to remedy these issues by developing a first-of-its-kind 1U optical receiver using as many COTS parts as possible. Doing so will enable other research groups and universities to adapt the existing OKSat work and improve upon it at a low price tag.

The team hopes to push the boundaries of what is possible with their 1U optical receiver payload, which will make use of high-precision active steering components as well as artificial intelligence to improve signal acquisition time and signal strength. This new technology will allow for uplink from optical ground stations and possibly other spacecraft capable of transmitting in the C band. OKSat hopes to launch this newly engineered technology on a approximately 2 year long CubeSat mission somewhere in the 2026-2028 time frame!