I am a Professor of space physics at Northumbria University Newcastle upon Tyne. My research focuses on understanding the space environment and the sources of space weather at Earth, through using advanced ground-based solar telescopes. I am the Principal Investigator of the UKSA-funded ALIGN mission, an in-orbit technology demonstration mission, with a payload instrument that I designed that is capable of 1 Gbps laser optical communications between pairs of CubeSats in Low Earth Orbit. Laser communications in space offers a new form of ultra long range, high bandwidth, resilient communications with potential for satellite to ground applications and servicing mega constellations of the future.