The UK has crossed a significant threshold in defence communications capability, with Dstl and Oxford-based SME Archangel Lightworks completing the country’s first successful download of data from space using a deployable laser communications ground station. During a 90-second satellite pass over the Mediterranean, many gigabits of data were transmitted from a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite to a ground station – a demonstration described by Dstl as the equivalent of moving from very slow internet to superfast fibre broadband. What the Technology Does Free space optical communications – laser comms – transmit data using narrow, low-power beams of non-visible light…
