Laser communication in space
Free space optical communication between near-Earth and geostationary satellites enables the fast transfer of data to a ground station. Vital data during natural catastrophes or in emergencies at sea can be received almost in real time in this way.
Near-Earth satellites serially scan tiles of the Earth's surface.
The information collected is "uploaded" with a laser beam to a geostationary satellite located around 36,000 km from Earth.
The high-flying satellite sends the information back to defined receiving stations on Earth.
To get the laser and optical receivers into space, they have to withstand great stress. The harsh environment in space makes this application one of the most challenging in photonics.
But a laser can actually meet extreme requirements other technologies cannot.
It is a fantastic achievement of photonics research to deliver data, photos and videos almost instantly to any place on earth, even if many people take this for granted today.
A very warm thank you to all the companies and institutes that made this publication possible.
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Text and research: Wenko Süptitz, SPECTARIS
Graphic: Schwochow Visual Stories GmbH
Scrollytelling: Jan Schwochow, Scrollytelling GmbH
- 01Video: getty imageshttps://www.gettyimages.com
- 02spectaris.dehttps://www.spectaris.de/
- 03ESAhttps://esa.eu
