Data highway in space with lasers from the FBH
Launch of the European data relay system EDRS-A
The launch of the European data relay system on January 29, 2016 is a further milestone to establish an optical data highway in space. This first laser node for a future optical network, located in 36,000 kilometers distance from the Earth, is now on its way to the geostationary orbit. From this higher position, it collects data from earth survey satellites circulating in near-earth orbits. These data are transmitted via laser to the data relay with a high transmission rate of 1.8 gigabit per second and from there, with minimum time delay, directly to Earth. Such earth observation data required for time-critical incidents like natural disasters, for example, can be life-saving since they are transferred instantly and can thus be analyzed quickly.
Core components for this routine are solid-state lasers whose pump light sources have been specifically developed at the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) for the challenging conditions in space. Tesat Spacecom uses FBH’s space-qualified diode lasers for their laser communication terminals for optical satellite communications. They have already been successfully utilized in several missions in geostationary as well as orbits close to Earth.
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