We currently developing the workshop objectives 

The Scylight Conference started as an annual workshop for the community to provide a platform for relevant discussions and technical exchanges in the then slowly emerging field of optical free space communication. Today, the optical communication sector has engulfed the use such links for optical inter satellite links, and the community is well connected and diverse. 

The Annual ScyLight Conference aims to honour it’s beginnings by organizing workshops around various subjects following the conference, in order to allow emerging communities to connect with a wider audience and to maximise overlaps between various fields in satellite communication. This year, the plans are to discussion Quantum Communications, the status of optical transceiver technologies, and to potentially offer students an opportunity to engage with the topic of quantum technologies (to be confirmed)

Quantum Workshop 2024

Quantum Technologies and the prospects of Quantum Communication are an indeed emerging domain and of great interest to key European and Canadian stakeholders of the Agency. Already today, terrestrial quantum links are becoming commercially available for secure communication applications in the form of mainly short distance, point-to-point links limited by the loss of optical fibre. Satellites can resolve the distance limitations of such link in terrestrial fibres by using free space links, potentially enabling quantum links over long distances.

The Workshop will try to critically discuss the need of the satcom community to get involved in terrestrial developments today, and provide a glimpse into current plans of key actors in the quantum communication community. 

ESA Coherent Optical Transceiver Workshop

Optical coherent transceivers are foreseen as a fundamental enabling technology of future high throughput space optical communication systems and networks such as ESA’s HydRON that aims at seamlessly extending the terrestrial optical transport networks into space. The development and sustainable commercialisation of optical coherent transceivers has become a strategic point of interest to the Agency's stakeholders. While overseas some commercial systems have already leveraged commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) transceivers, mainly for (p)LEO constellation and optical intersatellite links, several critical challenges need to be tackled to further enable reliable high throughput networks in space. Among those, the reliability of leveraged COTS in space, the requirements for a scalable solution to deal with atmospheric fading (ground-space links), and the development cost attached to a fully optimized space solution are challenges that call for important trade  -offs at a European and Canadian level. 

The Workshop will try to critically discuss the need of the satcom community, and provide a glimpse into current plans, development logic of key actors and the accessible business to key suppliers of such technologies. Given the strategic value of this technology and the cost of entering this market, one of the objectives of this workshop is to establish a shared vision that would help guide future developments and focus strategic funding. 

Young Professional Workshop - Space Photonics

Space Photonics – Spin it Up, Spin it Down! Target Audience: Students and young professionals interested in space technology, optical communication, and quantum information science. Timing: 14th of June - 9h45-13h00 Workshop overview:  Join us for an enriching workshop that explores the exciting possibilities of optical and quantum communication technologies. This session is crafted to blend informative content delivery with interactive, hands-on experiences. Participants will learn about the foundational aspects of these technologies, their applications in space research and commercial sectors, and how to navigate the process of developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for space tech initiatives. Learning Objectives:

•  Understand the key principles and applications of optical and quantum communication technologies.
•  Explore the concept and strategic development of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) within the space sector.
•  Gain practical insights through a real-world case study on successful MVP development.
•  Engage in problem-solving breakout sessions to tackle challenges in space techno