100 Gigabits Per Second! Amazon Transmits Data With Space Lasers At A Distance Of Over 600 Miles

Recently, Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite program took a critical step toward building a globally connected optical mesh network powered by a space laser system.
Since the successful launch and deployment of two prototype satellites with Optical Inter-Satellite Link (OISL) capabilities in October 2023, Amazon has been attempting to build an OISL ecosystem that will be able to move and land data anywhere through a constellation of networks in space, creating end-to-end communications payloads and networks.
The two satellite prototypes are now equipped with infrared lasers that can transmit data at 100 gigabits per second over a distance of more than 600 miles.
Ricky Freeman, vice president of Kuiper Government Solutions, a division of Kuiper Project, said in a statement, "Amazon's optical network will provide multiple paths to route data through space, creating resiliency and redundancy for customers who need to securely transmit information across the globe. "
The company said that all of its upcoming 3236 satellite-launchable Project Kuiper will include such an interconnection, which can form a high-speed mesh network to "route" data around the world and provide broadband access to businesses and public sector organizations. Project Kuiper is scheduled to begin full deployment in the first half of 2024, with early customer pilots beginning in the second half of this year.
Amazon isn't the only company looking to revolutionize digital connectivity with lasers in space between strategic satellite network nodes. spaceX's rival Starlink system, which already has more than 1.5 million customers, including the Ukrainian military, has been conducting optical interconnect trials for about a year. It recently claimed to have installed more than 8,000 space lasers on, the latest generation of satellites that began launching earlier this year.
But a little competition is good news for businesses and organizations on Earth, as the OISL system is increasingly driving the momentum of innovation in all corners of our interconnected economy, which relies on a layer of intangible technology that enables systems to communicate securely and make new connected experiences possible.
The race has begun to build the first complete Optical Inter-Satellite Link (OISL) constellation at a price that is more competitive with terrestrial 5G and fiber networks.
Powering innovation on Earth through connected constellations
Satellites with OISL communications are capable of securely uplinking data from virtually any location on Earth, transmitting it through laser communications in space, and downlinking it to a destination of their choice.
Instead of sending data between individual satellites and ground antennas, the OISL system works by having satellites use lasers to send data directly to other satellites in the constellation.
Each satellite in the network contains multiple optical terminals, allowing multiple simultaneous connections and high-speed cross-links to be formed, creating a space-native mesh network and increasing throughput while reducing latency.
Light travels faster in space than through other materials, such as glass, allowing the Orbital Laser Mesh Network being built by Amazon and SpaceX to transmit data up to 30% faster than fiber optic cables on Earth.
Now, OISL technology is finally ready for business. Satellite operators Telesat, China StarNet, Aerospace Science and Technology and Canadian startup Kepler are all investing in the use of interstellar laser link (OISL) technology to power their own networks.
After all, transmitting the internet from space to anywhere in the world at speeds unattainable on Earth is an attractive option, and one that could spur a whole new generation of innovation as advances are made globally rather than driven by some center of gravity.
Making optical links between satellites work
Lasers make sense in the vastness of space. Optical signals have a higher frequency than radio waves and therefore a higher bandwidth. Lasers can also focus signals into tighter beams, which increases safety and reduces power requirements. Narrower beams mean there is less risk of optical signals from different constellations interfering with each other, and outside of the radio realm, there is no regulatory body to tell operators which electromagnetic spectrum can and cannot be used.
Back in 2001, the European Space Agency established the first inter-satellite link between near-Earth orbit and geostationary orbit. Then in 2013, NASA sent the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter a Mona.