Sony launches a space laser subsidiary (for comms, not conflict)
- Reference: 1654516448
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/06/06/sony_satcomms_subsidiary/
- Source link:
The new company, Sony Space Communications Corporation (SSCC) plans to develop small optical communication devices that connect satellites in low Earth orbit using a laser beam, and provide the resulting connection as a service.
These small devices can provide high speed communication more effectively than radio, because they do not need a large antenna, high power output or complicated licenses, said Sony in a [1]canned statement.
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The laser devices can communicate with both ground stations and between orbiting satellites. SSCC president Kyohei Iwamoto called communication that operates only between the ground and satellites "problematic" as it means sats must pass over a ground station to communicate.
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"Currently there are approximately 12,000 satellites in space, and the number is expected to increase in the future. The amount of data used in orbit is also increasing year by year, but the amount of available radio waves is limited," said the president.
[5]Interplanetary Internet about as useful as flying pigs says Vint Cerf
[6]Bonus features: Sony uses Blu-ray tech to simulate 466Mbps laser link from the stratosphere to space
[7]Sony Interactive Entertainment pulls PlayStation from Russia
[8]Starlink's success in Ukraine amplifies interest in anti-satellite weapons
The new Sony org will be located in San Mateo, California, but details of when it expects to commercialize its tech has not been revealed.
Sony did say it had successfully sent high-definition image data from the International Space Station (ISS) to a ground station through a bidirectional laser communication link in a test. It followed that up two years later in 2022 by [9]completing a data file transfer from stratosphere to space at 446 megabits per second, with the help of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
In those tests, Sony used CSL Forward Error Correction (FEC), which is essentially a laser reading technique that corrects a limited number of errors without a need for retransmission, that was derived from Blu-ray technology.
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Sony reckons it's got this in the bag thanks to years of experience of working with lasers for CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and other industrial applications. Many of the devices Sony has made, like the orbital optical communications devices it wants to produce, are "ultra-compact, lightweight, mass producible, and can withstand harsh environments." ®
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[1] https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/News/Press/202206/22-023E/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yp4koFjWsppnS15-jaYjFQAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yp4koFjWsppnS15-jaYjFQAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Yp4koFjWsppnS15-jaYjFQAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2015/05/27/interplanetary_network_sig/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/28/jaxa_sony_446_mbps_space_network/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/10/playstation_quits_russia/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/02/anti_satellite_weapons/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/28/jaxa_sony_446_mbps_space_network/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yp4koFjWsppnS15-jaYjFQAAAEI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: So Sony wants to fire lasers at satellites
As long as they do it from a volcano lair
Re: So Sony wants to fire lasers at satellites
Upvoted, because there are obvious hazards if the use of laser-equipped satellites becomes a free-for-all.
However, it seems likely that limits on frequency bands, transmission power and, probably, minimum elevation above the horizon (to protect pilot's eyes) would become part of Standard Operating Procedures.
I can see both advantages and disadvantages in laser-based space comms. The most obvious disadvantage vs radio is the requirement to aim a transmission very accurately at its target to communicate at all, just as the most obvious advantage is the ability of tightly beamed transmissions to reuse any frequency without causing either accidental or deliberate interference. However, this would probably require the receiver to use a suitably directional antenna, i.e. a small telescope, and this in turn would require both ends to use rather precise pointing mechanisms to establish and use a link.
Given all the above, I can see its advantages over interplanetary distances, but wonder what,if any, advantages it would have over radio for LEO communications, other than bandwidth.
Sharks in Spaaaace!
I take it that Sony has also invented space suits for the sharks that will deploy this technology?
There is prior art
The Artemis satellite has an ESA laser communication experiment on board and was launched in 2001, it is called SILEX, I did some work on it back in the 90's.
So Sony wants to fire lasers at satellites
I've got the feeling that the airline industry might want to have a word with that.