China has made a significant breakthrough in the field of laser communication between satellites and the Earth, achieving a data transfer rate of 100 gigabits per second. This became an important stage in the development of space communication technologies, informs Interesting Engineering.
The speed achieved by China is ten times the previous record. The breakthrough was provided by Chang Guang Satellite Technology, which manages the Jilin-1 satellite constellation. This constellation is the world’s largest network of commercial Earth remote sensing satellites in the sub-meter range.
The data was transmitted between a mobile ground station located on the truck and one of the 117 Jilin-1 satellites in orbit. This achievement gives the Chang Guang Satellite a significant advantage over Elon Musk’s Starlink system, which has yet to implement laser communication between satellites and Earth.
“Elon Musk’s Starlink has shown off its laser intersatellite communication system, but has yet to deploy a laser link between satellite and Earth. We think they may have the technology, but we’ve already started a large-scale deployment.”, – explained the head of the laser communication ground station technology department of the company Wang Hanghang.
He also noted that in the future the company plans to equip all Jilin-1 satellites with laser communication modules. This will significantly increase the efficiency of their work. Chang Guang Satellite’s goal is to create a network of 300 satellites by 2027.
