PARIS: France’s Defense Innovation Agency (AID) and a local company, KaiLabs, have claimed to have established communication between a low-Earth orbit nanosatellite and a commercial ground station using lasers. It has been the first successful trial.
The project, which begins with the launch of the Kernos satellite in late 2023, aims to ensure high-quality communications by tackling disturbances caused by atmospheric turbulence.
Another advantage of this technology is fast data transfer which will help satellites to send large amounts of data to other satellites and ground stations.
According to NASA, optical communication technology such as lasers can transmit 100 times more data to Earth than current radio frequency systems.
AID said the technology will enable space laser communications to be used on mobile, land, sea and air platforms. It could also be linked to the future satellite systems of the French Ministry of Defense.
