Use lasers to transmit video from ISS to the ground

NASA succeeded in performing experiments that transferred high-resolution video data compression information into lasers and transferred from the International Space Station (ISS) to the ground.

OPALS transmits the first data from ISS to the ground - (Photo: NASA)

According to Space.com, Laser Optical Load Science (OPALS) project has completed the transmission of 175 megabit video to ground stations in California within 3.5 seconds, with speeds up to 50 megabit / second.

With the current device on ISS, it took more than 10 minutes to complete the same clip, according to NASA.

Project leader OPALS Michael Kokorowski said the laser beam could transmit 10 to 1,000 times more data than traditional radio telecommunications.

OPALS is currently only at the pilot stage, but in the future it is promising to provide the Internet to all ISS stations as well as to cruise ships and distant planets.