PARIS (ESA PR) — Engineers have connected Japan and Europe via space-enabled next-generation 5G telecommunication links. It is the first time that such an intercontinental connection has been established between Europe and Japan.

Next-generation 5G technology is poised to provide fast and high-volume data connectivity to fuel the digital transformation of society. When people and objects are travelling internationally on aircraft or ships, telecommunications satellites will play a crucial role in keeping them connected. International connectivity – for example, between a localised 5G network in a company’s head office and those in its subsidiary offices around the globe – could also use satellites for communication.

• For the first time, a signal from the DLR terminal OSIRISv1 was received on a NICT ground station in Japan.
• OSIRISv1 was developed by the DLR Institute for Communication and Navigation and launched in 2017 on the “Flying Laptop” satellite in cooperation with the Institute for Space Systems (IRS) at the University of Stuttgart.
• Optical communication systems that use laser beams for data transmission make it possible to significantly increase the data rates between satellites and ground stations.

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — The resolution of cameras and other sensors on earth observation satellites is increasing steadily. This leads to ever-increasing amounts of data that are still transmitted to earth using radio systems today. The data connection between the satellite and the earth limits the capabilities of the systems.  With optical communication systems that use laser beams for data transmission, a significant increase in data rates is possible. Numerous images can be transmitted with high resolution.