Europe Tests Laser Links As Satellite Comms Outgrow Radio (theregister.com) 40
Europe is testing laser-based satellite communications through a new mountaintop ground station in Greece, aiming to deliver faster, more secure links than traditional radio systems as bandwidth demand grows. The Register reports: Lithuanian space and defense biz Astrolight says that it has commissioned a new optical ground station in Greece that will support ESA-backed CubeSat missions testing laser-based communications between satellites and Earth. The Holomondas Optical Ground Station was built through the PeakSat project, led by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with backing from the European Space Agency and Greece's Ministry of Digital Governance. Its job is to receive data from satellites via infrared laser links rather than the radio systems that space operators have relied on for decades.
PeakSat and ERMIS-3, two Greek CubeSats launched in March under ESA's wider Greek IOD/IOV mission program, both carry Astrolight's ATLAS-1 optical communication terminal. Astrolight also built the ground segment, giving the project a fully integrated end-to-end optical communications setup. [...] The company says the station uses an 808-nanometer laser beacon and an optical C-band receiver capable of receiving data at up to 2.5 Gbps. Unlike traditional RF systems, optical links use tightly focused infrared beams that are harder to intercept or jam while also supporting significantly higher throughput.
PeakSat and ERMIS-3, two Greek CubeSats launched in March under ESA's wider Greek IOD/IOV mission program, both carry Astrolight's ATLAS-1 optical communication terminal. Astrolight also built the ground segment, giving the project a fully integrated end-to-end optical communications setup. [...] The company says the station uses an 808-nanometer laser beacon and an optical C-band receiver capable of receiving data at up to 2.5 Gbps. Unlike traditional RF systems, optical links use tightly focused infrared beams that are harder to intercept or jam while also supporting significantly higher throughput.
Networking (Score:2)
We are growing into a two-speed network. Lightspeed backhaul, WiFi local. Seems like normal evolution/advancement into suoer-cool future tech.
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You just increase the power and vaporize all obstacles. (including aircraft, birds and bugs)
Then release the video on pay-per-view.
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The Greek islands, especially the ones in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, have some of the highest clear-sky ratios in Europe. Crete in particular has long been a favorite for astronomical observatories for exactly that reason, minimal cloud cover for much of the year.
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All they're doing is moving up the frequency from Ghz to Thz.
Only 2.5Gbps? (Score:2)
This seems slow. Current radio technology exceeds that by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. Plus, lasers tend to have problems with cloud cover.
What am I missing?
Re:Only 2.5Gbps? (Score:5, Informative)
The summary says "harder to intercept or jam", and the company seems to be involved in the defence market.
It also says "supporting significantly higher throughput", so maybe the limitation to Gbps is only because it's a first test.
Re: Only 2.5Gbps? (Score:2)
It is incredibly easy to jam a laser link. Just put up any obstruction in the path and leave it there.
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It is incredibly easy to jam a laser link.
In general possibly but for communications between ground and satellites, it is hard.
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This is near infrared light (just below red light). Light cloud cover may not be a problem but heavy cloud cover is.
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What? Water still effects lasers at 1550nm. I guarantee this is a hybrid system that uses radio when weather conditions demand.
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Cloud cover is a problem for visible light, but not for infrared light.
Bro, have you heard of the greenhouse effect?
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Yes. And not every wavelength gets absorbed by cloud cover.
Every wavelength of IR is attenuated by cloud cover to some degree, some more strongly than others. Absorption is also not the only issue.
Re:Only 2.5Gbps? (Score:4, Interesting)
This is the Holomondas station specifically, which is essentially a test and validation facility built around a converted astronomical observatory.
It's the first step, meant to prove the concept works reliably through the atmosphere with the CubeSats they just launched in March.
CubeSats are tiny, with limited power and small optics, so they can't drive a high-bandwidth laser link regardless of what the ground station could handle.
The real numbers come with the bigger systems. The Hellas Sat 5 / SOLiS system is targeting up to 1 Tbps, which is 400 times faster. That's a full geostationary satellite with a proper optical payload, not a shoebox-sized CubeSat.
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This seems slow. Current radio technology exceeds that by 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. Plus, lasers tend to have problems with cloud cover.
What am I missing?
One can get multi-Gpbs radio links from orbit, but it tends to be 1) physically large and heavy, and 2) quite power hungry. These demonstrators are 6U cubesats, meaning the optical link equipment is really compact and power efficient.
For comparison: the NASA TDRS network [wikipedia.org], used for providing feeds from the ISS and telemetry from a bunch of LEO satellites, can manage 0.8 Gbps in the Ku-band. But those satellites are house-sized and use >1kW. NASA has been doing experiments and demo missions to use
Re: Only 2.5Gbps? (Score:2)
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Unless you use amplitude modulation on the "lazer" and bounce it off the ionosphere.
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Clouds will depend on the frequency.
X-Ray lasers are extremely difficult but they exist. Stepping down from extremely difficult to merely difficult may have some merit.
Whether it's worth the cost will be interesting. Microsats is curious - geostationary would be an easier place to start without the steering complexity.
An interesting project for sure.
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Or Quake 2, where you are using communication lasers to alert the fleet of your presence. It's a common sci-fi trope.
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What Marjorie Taylor Greene missed was that if there really were Jewish Space Lasers, she would have been zapped out of existence decades ago. If doing damage is your goal, then use an excessive amount of power, and yea, no problem if ANYTHING gets in the way of the beam.
Line of sight doesn't work (Score:2)
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Anyhow, I think you stumbled on to the real purpose of this endeavor. The removal of Zeus' tattoo of a swan impregnating Leda that Hera has been pissed off about for centuries.
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[Apollo shakes his fists at space going worshipers who ignore him, packs bags for space trippin']
Lazer beats! (Score:2)
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Phat Lazer Beats was that other thug in Mos Eisley.
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Concept requires upgrading (Score:2)
I will refer you all to the movie Real Genius.
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[settles back in big blue comfy couch and grabs for–]
"Oh, never mind"
Obligitory- (Score:2)
"Finger Quotes"
Such systems exist for decades now (Score:2)
In fact such systems have existed before fiberoptic cables... however there is a problem they have called "weather". While microwave links, which BTW can also reach 10 Gigs if you plan them right, will fade a bit in rain, laser-based systems typically fail completely and much faster.
For decades it never managed to get out of its niche, and there seems to be no progress on the horizon to change that.