4 ms·

That's why the US is developing tracked laser communication systems. They are effectively impossible to jam.

greedo 12y ago
Laser is line of sight, limiting your range. And nature has a great way of jamming lasers, called clouds. If you were able to get a decently powered laser in a satellite, it wouldn't be able to control too many aircraft unless it looked like a porcupine. And then it would have to deal with anti-satellite defenses that both China and Russia have spent significant sums on.
- greedo 12y ago
  Not sure why this was downvoted.
- Already__Taken 12y ago
  Unless you happen to have an autonomous reusable spacecraft with significant cross range ability and enough fuel to continuously change orbits.
- Tuna-Fish 12y ago
  > Laser is line of sight, limiting your range. Yes, with current equipment it limits your range to somewhere beyond the orbit of the moon. Yes, we can now keep a laser and a receiver tracked on each other from 300000km away. > And nature has a great way of jamming lasers, called clouds. There are wavelengths that are not hampered much by clouds. > If you were able to get a decently powered laser in a satellite We can. > it wouldn't be able to control too many aircraft unless it looked like a porcupine. ... but this is a problem, you'd basically be limited in total bandwidth by count of satellites. Meaning you either need to launch a lot of them, or reduce bandwidth per drone.
  - greedo 12y ago
    Being able to ping the moon with a laser doesn't help with terrestrial systems. Just as radar has a horizon limit, so do laser systems. So if you put this on a controller version of an AWACS, you have to deal with attenuation from clouds/weather, and I think keeping a lock on a maneuvering UCAS might be a challenge.
    - Tuna-Fish 12y ago
      I'm not talking about pinging the moon, I'm talking about maintaining a link with a maneuvering spacecraft in moon orbit.
      - greedo 12y ago
        So this spacecraft you're linking to makes radical 8g maneuvers, changes direction at a 30s/ roll rate, and can change altitude at will?

Laser is line of sight, limiting your range. And nature has a great way of jamming lasers, called clouds. If you were able to get a decently powered laser in a satellite, it wouldn't be able to control too many aircraft unless it looked like a porcupine. And then it would have to deal with anti-satellite defenses that both China and Russia have spent significant sums on.

greedo 12y ago
Not sure why this was downvoted.
Already__Taken 12y ago
Unless you happen to have an autonomous reusable spacecraft with significant cross range ability and enough fuel to continuously change orbits.
Tuna-Fish 12y ago
> Laser is line of sight, limiting your range. Yes, with current equipment it limits your range to somewhere beyond the orbit of the moon. Yes, we can now keep a laser and a receiver tracked on each other from 300000km away. > And nature has a great way of jamming lasers, called clouds. There are wavelengths that are not hampered much by clouds. > If you were able to get a decently powered laser in a satellite We can. > it wouldn't be able to control too many aircraft unless it looked like a porcupine. ... but this is a problem, you'd basically be limited in total bandwidth by count of satellites. Meaning you either need to launch a lot of them, or reduce bandwidth per drone.
- greedo 12y ago
  Being able to ping the moon with a laser doesn't help with terrestrial systems. Just as radar has a horizon limit, so do laser systems. So if you put this on a controller version of an AWACS, you have to deal with attenuation from clouds/weather, and I think keeping a lock on a maneuvering UCAS might be a challenge.
  - Tuna-Fish 12y ago
    I'm not talking about pinging the moon, I'm talking about maintaining a link with a maneuvering spacecraft in moon orbit.
    - greedo 12y ago
      So this spacecraft you're linking to makes radical 8g maneuvers, changes direction at a 30s/ roll rate, and can change altitude at will?