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https://wccftech.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-laser-test/ https://wccftech.com/spacex-starlink-satellite-laser-test/

• roflyear 4y ago
  Lasers require a lot of power. I doubt this is going to work.
  • maccam94 4y ago
    Power budgeting is basic engineering. They wouldn't install lasers on satellites if they couldn't power them.
  • Johnythree 4y ago
    Solid state Lasers can be very low power. Think of a tiny laser pointer, albeit with better optics. And path loss will be very low in a vacuum.
  • jhugo 4y ago
    "Lasers require a lot of power." This statement is meaningless as written. You can emit as much or as little with a laser as you like. You could say "a lot of power is required for a reliable inter-satellite optical link", to which I would say "citation needed". Iridium has been doing inter-satellite links since the late 90s and moving from RF to optical doesn't change the game that much.
    • shaklee3 4y ago
      iridium rates compared to SpaceX are not comparable and not the same technology
      • jhugo 4y ago
        The data rate has very little to do with the complexity of the satellite-to-satellite links, and steering RF and optics isn't as different as you might think.
        • shaklee3 4y ago
          that's partially true. the data rates have a lot to do with frequency reuse, which means more complicated designs. starlink is complicated in the dynamic conditions, but the beamforming is relatively simple.