IonQ’s Skyloom Optical Communications Terminals Reach 84 On-Orbit Installations Following Latest Launch

Insider Brief

• Skyloom Global has deployed dozens of additional optical communication terminals on York Space Systems satellites supporting the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
• The terminals were launched on July 16 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, bringing Skyloom’s total on-orbit OCT deployments to several dozen.
• The deployment supports SDA’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer, which is designed to provide high-throughput, low-latency communications for national defense applications.

Press release – Skyloom Global, LLC, an IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) company specializing in the development of space-based optical technology for secure, high-performance communications, today announced that dozens of additional optical communication terminals (OCTs) have been successfully deployed on orbit. The OCTs were aboard York Space Systems satellites supporting the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).

The satellites equipped with the company’s optical technology were launched July 16, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This latest installation builds on the previous OCTs launched during SDA’s first Tranche 1 mission in September 2025, resulting in several dozen OCTs on orbit. This significant achievement represents one of the largest operational lasercomm payload footprints in low-Earth orbit.

“We’re proud to continue supporting SDA with proven, U.S.-built optical communications technology at scale,” said IonQ’s President of Quantum Platform, Jordan Shapiro. “This milestone reflects years of focused industrialization and our commitment to strengthening the nation’s space-based communications infrastructure. As space networking evolves toward higher-throughput optical architectures, our proven OCTs provide the backbone for the resilient, data-rich mesh networks that will define the next era of space connectivity.”

With the second deployment of space vehicles equipped with OCTs, and the third deployment of Transport Layer Tranche 1 space vehicles overall, SDA moves closer to completion of the Tranche 1 PWSA Transport Layer constellation. These spacecraft are designed to provide high-throughput, low-latency, mission-enabling communications essential to national defense, all interoperable with SDA’s OCT standards.