this post was submitted on 03 May 2024
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NASA uses laser link to beam data 140 million miles across space at 25 Mbps (www.techspot.com)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] Mango 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm not really understanding how they verified the information made it that far.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm assuming it was a two-way test. Beam some data to the spacecraft, then have the spacecraft beam the data back to Earth.

[–] Mango 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

What spacecraft?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Just read the article.

Psyche mission launched on October 13, 2023, with the goal of exploring the origin of planetary cores and studying the metallic asteroid known as 16 Psyche. The spacecraft is scheduled to reach the namesake asteroid in 2029.

[–] Mango -2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

It's definitely not 140m miles away after just a year.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Actually, it is! Space motion isn't straightforward. Here's another article that has a diagram indicating the relative positions.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-optical-comms-demo-transmits-data-over-140-million-miles

[–] Mango 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Oh wow thanks! I did not have the perspective for the distance. I figured that was Voyager 1 kind of numbers.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Voyager 1 is in the neighborhood of 15b miles from earth!

[–] Mango 2 points 7 months ago

Hot damn