English

Dutch satellite instruments have achieved milestone achievements in transmitting laser data to Earth

1066
2024-01-25 10:45:47
See translation

TNO wrote that this is the first time Dutch technology has been used to send data from a satellite to a ground station press release on Earth. This technology uses invisible laser signals to achieve faster and safer data flow compared to ubiquitous communication radio frequencies.

Kees Buijsrogge, Director of TNO Space, said, "This critical milestone marks a significant achievement for the Netherlands and Europe in advancing technological sovereignty within a strong NATO, as it will achieve faster and safer broadband connectivity. This is a temporary result of the emerging Dutch industry's collaborative efforts dedicated to optical satellite communication.".

Almost all connections in daily life, such as Wi Fi, Bluetooth, or 5G, are based on radio frequency waves. Due to the increase in data consumption, this radio spectrum is slowly filling up, causing scarcity and interference. Laser satellite communication provides a solution as it can send data faster and safer through invisible laser signals. The radio frequency can reach speeds of several hundred megabits, and in some cases can reach several thousand megabits per second.

The speed of laser communication has increased by 100 to 1000 times. Even at lower speeds, laser communication links are interesting because the system is smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient, which is crucial for space applications. It is also safer because it uses a very narrow optical laser beam instead of a wide radio signal. This makes eavesdropping more difficult and interference can be quickly detected.

The laser communication system SmallCAT was launched by SpaceX on a satellite operated by the Norwegian Space Agency in April 2023. Since then, TNO has been preparing to establish a connection between satellites flying in low Earth orbit and optical ground stations in The Hague and Tenerife Island. In such an experiment, the ground station first sends a signal to the satellite, and the laser communication system on the satellite must find the signal through its overpass. Then, it sends the laser back to the Earth that the ground station needs to capture. This is very challenging as the satellite flies at a speed of 28000 kilometers per hour at an altitude of 500 kilometers.

In several experiments, TNO successfully found two ground stations from space and sent back and recaptured the laser beam with extremely high accuracy. Once the link is established, data is transmitted from satellite instruments and received by the optical ground station in The Hague at a maximum data rate of 1 gigabit per second. The ground station of TNO in The Hague was jointly developed by TNO and Airbus Netherlands. This is the first time such a compact satellite instrument made in the Netherlands has achieved this. It indicates that the terminals on the satellite and the ground station are working, and they can also be found under real conditions.

Source: Laser Net

Related Recommendations
  • Iron Triangle releases fiber Bragg gratings and arrays based on multi-core fibers

    T35 multi-core fiber grating and T103 multi-core fiber grating arrays can be engraved into all fiber cores in physical locations, or only onto certain fiber cores.They can also have the same wavelength, or they can have all different wavelengths at the same physical location along the fiber or at different physical locations along the fiber.T35 and T103 are very suitable for projects that require...

    2023-10-28
    See translation
  • Microcomb launches a simplified design for powerful lasers based on chips

    Researchers at the University of Rochester have created new micro comb lasers that go beyond previous limitations and have simple designs suitable for various applications. The research results are published in Nature Communications.Optical frequency combs are optical measurement instruments that have revolutionized atomic clocks, spectroscopy, metrology, and other fields. However, the difficulty ...

    2024-05-25
    See translation
  • TRUMPF high-power laser dynamic beam shaping technology creates opportunities for the electric vehicle industry

    It is reported that researchers from TRUMPF in Germany reported research on using dynamic beam shaping of high-power lasers to improve the productivity of hairpin stators, creating opportunities for the electric vehicle industry. Relevant research was published in "PhotonicsViews" under the title "Unlocking opportunities for the EV industry with beam shaping of high-power lasers".The electric vehi...

    2024-07-01
    See translation
  • XLight raises $40 million in financing to develop new EUV light sources

    xLight, a US startup aiming to commercialize particle accelerator driven free electron lasers (FELs) for use in semiconductor production, says it has raised $40 million in a series B round of venture funding.The Palo Alto, California, firm said that the support would enable it to develop a prototype next-generation light source capable of emitting at extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelengths that are ...

    07-23
    See translation
  • Trumpf Laser releases latest fiscal year data

    Recently, German laser giant Trumpf released data for the fiscal year 2023/24. The latest financial report shows that the group's sales decreased by 4% and order volume decreased by 10% in the fiscal year 2023/24.Despite these setbacks, Germany has become the company's strongest single market for the first time in many years, highlighting a shift in market dynamics.At the end of this fiscal year, ...

    2024-07-19
    See translation