Optical instruments have long been used in space in scientific and observation satellites. Telecommunication satellites on the other hand were and are the realm of RF/microwave techniques. But in 1981, a new era began when the first flight model satellite-to-satellite optical crosslink was ordered by the U.S. Government. Of course at that time, strategic reasons (no reliance on foreign ground stations, survivability, etc.) were probably as important as technical reasons.
The role of optics in communication satellites
1998-01-01
110941 byte
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
The Role of Optics in Communication Satellites
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