5 ms·
I'll start by saying my understanding of the laser connection on the satellites is virtually nil. Could you just add more beams on each satellite?
by binaryblitz 6y ago
I'll start by saying my understanding of the laser connection on the satellites is virtually nil.
Could you just add more beams on each satellite?
- sandworm101 6y agoNo. The beams would overlap, which is fine of they are on different frequencies, but eventually you run out of frequencies to use. Fiber confines the beam to inside the fiber. No overlap between one fiber and another means you can run multiple down the same pipe.
- mleonhard 6y agoWhy would they overlap?
- Melkman 6y agoBecause a beam in an open medium always diverges due to wavefront errors and diffraction. A very good laser system might possibly have a divergence of only 1 microradians. For reference a typical laser pointer has a divergence angle of 1 to 2 milliradians. With the 2000km or so between satellites for Starlink the laser "spot" on the receiving satellite with the very good laser will be about 2 meter. Not enough to receive multiple beams on one satellite without overlapping.
- mleonhard 6y agoThanks for explaining. Would it work if they put receivers on a long pole, spaced 3m apart? Maybe they could mount them on the edge of the solar panel array, which is ~30m long [0]. [0] https://lilibots.blogspot.com/2020/04/starlink-satellite-dimension-estimates.html https://lilibots.blogspot.com/2020/04/starlink-satellite-dim...
- Melkman 6y agoThe link estimates the surface of the panels to be 30m2. Since the panels are 3.1m wide the length would be 9.6 meters. But even at 30 meters it would be very very hard to engineer a system that can keep a laser beam aligned on a moving target with sub microradian precision. I'd guess Starlink laser are more divergent to make hitting the target easier. Keeps the exit pupil a manageable size too (narrower beams need bigger optics).