Space-based Laser Communications

Space-based laser communications is a groundbreaking technology that enables better, faster, and more reliable data transmissions than traditional radio frequency technology. Conveying information over hundreds of thousands of kilometers at the speed of light, it has the potential to be extended for use with distances of millions of kilometers. 

Known colloquially as lasercomm, space-based laser communication is a type of free-space communication that relies entirely on optics. Through satellite laser links, this powerful communication technique can not only transmit data to and from space but can also power satellite-based earth communication systems, decreasing reliance on the cross-continental cable systems that are so prone to accident and dysfunction. It is also used to transmit data between satellites.

Examples of space based laser communications in practice include the NASA’s  Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science, tested in 2014 on the International Space Station to demonstrate laser communication technology, and theirCommunications Relay Demonstration LCRD, launched in December 2021 to communicate between orbit and the earth. 

There have been numerous other initiatives over the years. Terrabyte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) launched in May 2022 and provided 200 Gbit/s space to ground communications, beaming to California from an earth orbit 300 miles up.  The U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) is also currently developing a constellation of low-earth orbit satellites to produce a low-latency, high-volume  data transport network for terrestrial and space missions.  To read the entire article, visit Avantier