Travis Brashearsa SpaceX engineer, says the company delivers more than 42 petabytes of data per day to Starlink satellite Internet customers using laser links.
On the sidelines of the SPIE Photonics West event (a ceremony in the field of optical technologies) held in San Francisco from January 27 to February 1, 2024 (7 to 12 February 1402), the SpaceX engineer mentioned the capabilities of Starlink to provide high-quality Internet in space.
According to BrashearsEvery day, SpaceX satellites use about 9,000 laser beams to exchange nearly 42 million gigabytes of data. These beams have the ability to change direction in real time and connect to the nearest SpaceX ground station.
Starlink uses radio communications to provide Internet connectivity between customers, and laser beams are used to transmit data between SpaceX satellites.
Satellite Internet is one of the latest communication technologies that will be equipped with many Samsung and Xiaomi phone models and other reputable brand products in the near future. Since 2022, the Apple phone has been equipped with a satellite communication system, but it does not have satellite internet.
The use of laser beams for satellite Internet, in addition to its effective role in reducing the delay rate of communication, can maintain a speed of 100 GB/s per connection.
A SpaceX engineer says that the use of laser beams in satellite Internet provides stable connections, and that this technology is necessary to expand Internet access in areas without SpaceX ground stations, such as Antarctica.
Starlink satellites form 266,141 Internet connection points daily through beams. Some of these spots are stable for weeks and can reach transfer speeds of 200 Mbps.
According to a SpaceX engineer, the laser system of the Starlink satellites is based on the Gen 3 design, which has recently been upgraded to Gen 4.
