China uses lasers for 10 times faster ground-based satellite-to-ground communication
China has successfully deployed laser-based high-speed communications technology on commercial satellites, increasing the speed of data transfer from space to earth tenfold, up to 10 gigabytes per second (Gbps). “Using a ground aperture of 500 mm (19.7 inches), the researchers received the laser signals emitted by a transmitter on the Jilin-1 satellite MF02A04,” the official Science and Technology newspaper reported earlier this week. Daily.
The Jilin-1 constellation of 108 lower-Earth-orbit satellites is the largest network of imaging satellites in the world, delivering commercial remote sensing data for areas such as land resource surveying, urban planning and disaster monitoring. The latest innovation should significantly improve ground communication with satellites.
Traditionally, satellite-to-ground links have relied primarily on microwave technology. However, as the range of microwave frequencies is limited, so is the data transfer rate. Lasers, on the other hand, have a much broader spectrum. Therefore, the use of lasers as data carriers can help contain more data in each transmission, with a bandwidth that can reach several hundred gigahertz.
A team from the Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), which belongs to the country's most important research institute – the Chinese Academy of Sciences – has created a satellite-to-ground link using lasers, for what is formally known as " optical communication".
Li Yalin, head of AIR's ground system, likened the technology to city roads. "Using the common 375 MHz microwave is like driving down a single lane, while the emerging [1.5 GHz microwave technology] would be a four-lane road," he said. “Lasers, on the other hand, can accommodate hundreds or even thousands of lanes.” "With this optical communication, it is possible to transmit a high-definition film in one second, 10 to 1,000 times faster than the current microwave communication method."
The first batch of data sent to Earth from the Jilin-1 transmitter included an image of Doha, the capital of Qatar.
“It is the first satellite-to-ground ultra-high-speed [10 Gbps] optical communication test for commercial applications in China, and the single communication lasted more than 100 seconds,” said chief designer Chen Shanbo of Chang Guang Satellite Technology, the commercial company that launched the Jilin-1 satellite MF02A04.
The highly concentrated energy of lasers also means that the size, weight and power consumption of satellite-borne laser transmitters are significantly smaller than those powered by microwaves. Lasers also have strong anti-electromagnetic interference capability, which can significantly improve the security of earth-satellite communications. In particular, NASA has accelerated similar searches and, in collaboration with researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), last June it achieved a downlink speed of 100 Gbps. NASA's record, however, was achieved on a demonstration satellite, not one with commercial use.
The Jilin-1 MF02A04 is a commercial satellite designed for practical use and longer lifespan. It weighs less than 40 kg, but the weight of its transmitter is unknown. Faster data transmission could boost development in many areas. Missions for the collection of important data on the Earth's climate and resources, astrophysical discoveries and military surveys could be enhanced by this technology.
“Laser communications are the missing link that will enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future,” Keer said in May.
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The article China uses lasers for 10 times faster satellite-to-ground-based communication comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-cina-utilizza-il-laser-per-una-comunicazione-satellite-base-a-terra-10-volte-piu-veloce/ on Sun, 02 Jul 2023 07:00:30 +0000.