This online connection will make it seem like your friends and your co-workers are very close. Like they lived next door. Super clear video calling. High-definition internet. Who knows what other things we will be able to share with the new laser communication.

The satellite internet which SpaceX (Starlink) and Amazon (OneWeb) are waging war. They both want to have the best airspace to place their satellites at high altitudes.

These systems are obsolete compared to this optical laser that NASA is experimenting with, in space. In fact, it is based on radio transmission.

It is not the first time that new and revolutionary technologies have been invented thanks to the US space agency.

I just want to remind you of the GPS system we all use on mobile phones. Some types of very powerful cameras. A pumping system that is used to make the heart work better for people who have heart disease.

Here we are faced with an incredible discovery that will upset the telecommunications system. Just as the inventions mentioned have done (and there are dozens more on the list)

A Laser Optical System That Pensions Radio Waves

This new telecommunication technology will be 10 to 100 times higher than radio waves.

In fact, lasers have infrared physical characteristics (invisible to the human eye) that allow faster data transmission.

To give a practical example:

“If we wanted to transmit a complete map of Mars with radio waves it would take about nine weeks, but with lasers, it only takes 9 days”.

Where and when will it be tested for the first time?

The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration mission: was successfully launched on December 7 as part of the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program 3 mission.

Two satellites were transported, one of them being the Space Test Program Satellite-6 spacecraft. Which will serve to test this laser communication system.

The goal that prompted NASA to take this step forward was to overcome the radio wave system. Now, it is starting to get very old. It has been used since 1958 for space communications.

However, the missions are becoming more and more complex: with an increasingly large volume of data to be exchanged. Therefore new technologies have to adapt to new needs.

If you notice it is the same progress that we have already experienced here on Earth.

To give an example: you used to use ADSL at home. It was cool when first introduced because the internet was finally going at high speed.

Over time it seemed slower and slower. Luckily, fiber optics and radio communications arrived. Which are great for the amount of data in quality photos, 4k videos, and large video chats

That higher speed ratio (between ADSL and fiber optics) is like what we will have with the laser 🙂

In short, a nice leap forward. Like the one made with the microwave. Or with natural gas heating compared to wood heating. Such a piece of capability…