NASA installs space laser on the ISS, uses it to transmit high-speed data back to Earth | 21st Century Innovative Technologies and Developments as also discoveries, curiosity ( insolite)... | Scoop.it
NASA has successfully completed the first test of the International Space Station's new OPALS laser communications system. OPALS links the ISS to an observatory here on Earth at very high speeds (around 50 megabits per second), allowing for the real-time transmission of high-resolution video among other things. This is orders of magnitude faster than existing radio-based links, and is a significant step forward for future space exploration.