NASA sets speed record in space communication. TBIRD sends 200 Gbps using laser technology.

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NASA sets speed record in space communication

TBIRD sends 200 Gbps using laser technology

Foto: NASA

NASA has announced that their space communication system TBIRD (TeraByte InfraRed Delivery) has once again broken speed records for data transfer from space to Earth.

TBIRD is a laser-based communication system mounted on NASA's PTD-3 satellite (Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator), which was launched into space last year. In December of last year, NASA announced that they had successfully sent data at a speed of 100 Gbps using TBIRD, which they have now doubled.

Currently, NASA mostly uses radio technology for communication between Earth and their spacecraft. The tests with laser-based communication systems are a step towards increasing data transfer speeds between space and Earth in the future, for example, when we begin to colonize Mars. NASA writes:

"The ultra-high-speed capabilities of laser communications, also known as optical communications, will make it possible to pack more data into each transmission from space. More information about whatever a scientific instrument may be studying – whether that be imagery of another world, data about space radiation, or something else – means there’s more data for scientists on Earth to study, leading to the discoveries that will be needed to live and work on other worlds."

Below is a picture of the TBIRD transmitter, which was developed by NASA in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Below that is a clip from NASA where they talk more about laser communication between space and Earth, where TBIRD is one of the systems mentioned.

nasa.gov

Science,

NASA, TBIRD, laser communication, PTD-3 satellite, data transfer speeds

Via gizmodo.com