China’s BeiDou in race with Nasa over laser communications in space
- Researchers conduct experiment using Chinese satellites to create laser network in space for high-speed links
- Technology could potentially transmit data a million times faster than by radio signal to almost any location
The method could allow a satellite to beam data to the ground at several gigabytes per second, rather than kilobytes at present, according to researchers involved. BeiDou’s fastest communication performance in the experiment remains classified.
China and the United States are in an intense race to establish laser communication networks in space. Nasa announced on Monday that, after a two-year delay, it would next month launch an experimental satellite to conduct similar experiments, testing data transmission via laser beam at 2.8GB per second.
BeiDou satellites normally connect to ground users by radio signal, which can transmit only short text messages because of limited bandwidth. With the help of a laser, the network could transmit data a million times faster to almost any location at any time.
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Laser communication offers wider bandwidth, is less vulnerable to being tapped by spies or jammed during electronic warfare, and uses lighter, more compact technology.