Northwood Space Passes First Test in Space Communication

Bridgit Mendler’s startup, Northwood Space, has passed its first major development test by connecting with Planet Labs imagery satellites in orbit. The startup, based in El Segundo, California, aims to provide a data highway between earth and space.

“We’re building this global network to send data for satellites, built off of phased array technology that we have now successfully validated, both in the lab and in the field,” Mendler, Northwood’s CEO, told CNBC.

The company develops ground stations which, once successful, will be mass-produced. Designed with a phased array-based system, they hypothesize that their approach will outperform the parabolic dish antennas traditionally used in ground stations.

Prototype testing took place in Maddock, North Dakota. The prototype antenna was positioned and a connection established using telemetry, tracking, and control methods. The test was two-fold, evaluating connectivity in both S-band and X-band frequencies. Planet Labs heralded Northwood’s test as a “major milestone.”

“We were able to achieve bi-directional communications for the full duration of a pass with Planet’s satellites and achieved nominal communications for them. They were able to perform their operations as they would on their own system,” said Bridgit Mendler, CEO.

The company plans to deploy Portal sites that can support as many as 10 simultaneous satellite connections, with data rates over 1 gigabit per second per beam, beginning next year. Northwood is currently assessing locations in the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand for its first Portal sites.

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