The big problem is getting through the Earth's Atmosphere. Space observatories are nearly exclusively located on mountains or areas with little atmospheric 'pol

The big problem is getting through the Earth's Atmosphere. Space observatories are nearly exclusively located on mountains or areas with little atmospheric 'pollution'. I'd imagine even the OPALS system can only be used when it's not too cloudy/rainy. This technology does exist on land however. Free Space Optics[1] has been around for a while but hasn't taken off in a big way because it's less reliable than sending light down a fibre cable, even though it is cheaper. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-space_optical_communication http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-space_optical_communicatio...