China has found a unique way for data transmission, and through the use of lasers, they're able to achieve this at 10x speeds. This comes as the first ultra-high-speed satellite-to-ground technology was tested in the country, achieving over 100 seconds of activity.
State-Owned Enterprise Changguang Satellite Technology Announced the Recent Achievement
According to the story by Interesting Engineering, the State-owned enterprise Changguang Satellite Technology recently announced its new achievement. This was described as a huge milestone regarding space technology.
The State-owned enterprise was reportedly based in China's Jilin province. As per the report, it successfully deployed laser-based high-speed communication on its commercial satellites.
The Test was Able to Achieve Speeds of 10 Gbps with the Overall Space-to-Ground Data Speeds
This was reportedly a huge achievement since it meant they could increase the overall space-to-ground data speed by tenfold. The total speed reportedly reached a massive 10 Gbps, as noted in a tweet by Global Times.
The new achievement was reportedly made possible by using lasers that acted like data centers. These lasers reportedly offered a wider spectrum compared to the traditionally used microwave technology.
The New Achievement was Done with Researchers from the Aerospace of Information Research
It was also announced that deploying what was described as cutting-edge technology was expected to have a revolutionary effect on satellite ground communication. The test was dubbed a success as it involved researchers from the Aerospace Information Research (AIR).
AIR, which is reportedly a branch of the Chinese Academy of Science, reportedly set up the lasers which linked the satellite to the ground. The team on the ground reportedly received the laser signals that were emitted from the Jilin-1 MF02A04 satellite.
The Jilin-1 Constellation Plays Many Roles, Like Contributing to Land Resource Surveys, Disaster Monitoring, and Urban Planning
This was part of one of the world's largest satellite networks, the Jilin-1 constellation. It was also highlighted that the constellation also plays a huge role in different sectors.
Some of the other sectors that the Jilin-1 constellation contributes to include land resource surveys, disaster monitoring, and even urban planning. AIR ground system leader, Li Yalin, explained the advantage of laser communication by using what was described as an interesting analogy.
The Technology Was Like Running on Hundreds or Thousands of Lanes
According to Li Yalin's comment to the South China Morning Post, it was noted that through the help of a common microwave at the frequency of 375 MHz, it would be like simply driving on a single lane. However, the leader said that with the help of higher 1.5 GHz microwave technology, this would be like driving on four-lane roads.
Yalin then noted that when it came to lasers, it was like the technology could accommodate hundreds or what was described as "even thousands of lanes." As described by Interesting Engineering, it was noted that the technology would enable users to download a high-definition movie in just a single second. This was 10 to 1,000 times faster compared to what the current microwave communication methods could achieve.
