High-power lasers go the distance
Communication with satellites is essential for sending them commands and receiving the important data they collect, whether about Earth's climate, distant stars or nearby planets, moons and asteroids.
But the amount of data that can be exchanged with satellites over long distances is limited by modern radio and laser communication technology. In this project, a team from Crytur in the Czech Republic is developing new high-energy lasers operating at Short-Wave InfraRed (SWIR) wavelengths to achieve more stable communication at higher data rates, even with satellites far away in deep space.
"Although we are in the development phase and are not targeting the high-level Technology Readiness Level in the current phase of the project, we can say the SWIR laser solution is lightweight and compact enough to be carried by small satellites," says Antonin Fajstavr, from Crytur. "The laser propagates through Earth's atmosphere better than standard systems and requires less power. It can also operate day or night, even when there is cloud cover. All of this will improve communication with the satellites in orbit around Earth or exploring distant worlds."
"The funding from ESA Discovery has allowed us to work on the 2.1-micrometre (micron) wavelength laser spectrum band, which is challenging as it is still not yet fully investigated and experimentally covered with standard commercial laser applications. 2.1-micron wavelength lasers could introduce benefits such as better stability and energy efficiency of the communication chain between Earth and the satellites. ESA Discovery funding allows us to quantify the user benefits of such lasers with measurements and make the 2.1-micron wavelength interesting and more accessible also for other potential uses."
"Optical communications in space and between space and ground are not novel but they are in a fast-expanding phase. The novelty of this project is the use of 2.1-micron laser with some associated advantages," says ESA engineer Nicolas Thiry.
