November 30, 2001 marked the first-ever transmission of an image by laser link from one satellite to another. Terminals on the European Space Agency's (ESA) Artemis spacecraft, operating 19,270 miles above Earth, and the French space agency's (CNES) SPOT 4 satellite, orbiting at 517 miles altitude, exchanged high-definition imagery data at 50 megabits per second. Images from SPOT 4 via Artemis were subsequently transmitted to the SPOT Image control center in Toulouse, France. Effective cooperation between several operations control centers ensured success. These included the CNES SPOT 4 control center and the SPOT Image data reception/processing facility in Toulouse, the ESA-Artemis mission control facility in Redu, Belgium, and the Artemis operations control center in Fucino, Italy. The main advantage offered by the optical data relay system is enhanced availability. When operated with SPOT 4, the link can be maintained for more than 50% of the orbit. This increases contact time dramatically and shortens the time interval between when images are recorded and when they are available to the customer. System potential also extends beyond Earth observation, promising to revolutionize satellite-to-satellite communications for constellations in low-earth orbit, geo-stationary satellites, and deep-space exploration probes. Contact Bernard Cabrieres at CNES for more information. Tel: +33 5 61 27 42 47, or bernard.cabrieres@cnes.fr.
JUNE 26TH WEBCAST: Collaborative Requirements Engineering
Speed your innovation. Capture the "voice of the customer" and translate customer requests into user requirements that define new products. Find out why the new ENOVIA Requirements Management solution enables organizations to improve their overall global requirements management process. Read More
Mechatronics in action
Successful synergistic integration of controls, electronics, computers and mechanical systems is key to the 21st century design process. Unlock the secrets at the Mechatronics Zone!
Webcast: Sensor Know-How Now
Join our moderator Randy Frank and John Keating from Cognex and explore Solving Industrial Inspection Problems. Read More
Engineering Concept Conduit
Engineering Concept Conduit looks at new products and the components that make them exceptional. Each month we’ll look at a new electronic product and see what makes it tick from an engineering point of view. We’ll explore the design and engineering challenges for the product and examine the components that solved those challenges.
Light Matters: Systems Level Approach to HBLED illumination applications
Its good practice to apply a systems-level approach to high-brightness LED (HBLED) illumination applications. Minimally, the system includes the optical, thermal and electrical characteristics of the of the HBLED, the lens (if any) which is built-in to its package, secondary optics such as external plastic lenses/reflectors to direct the light as your application requires and power driver electronics. Read More