Russia Demonstrates First Satellite Link Between Different Orbits
The experimental communications link achieved a data transfer rate of 0.5 megabits per second.
Russian Satellite Communications Company and the Special Technology Center of St. Petersburg conducted what they described as a first-of-its-kind experiment, transmitting data in space between two satellites operating in different orbits.
During the test, the CSTP-2.11 small satellite in low Earth orbit (up to 1,500 km) successfully established a communications session through the Express satellite in geostationary orbit (15,000-36,000 km). The data transfer rate reached 0.5 megabits per second.
"Using satellites in different orbits as relay stations makes it possible to establish communications channels without deploying additional ground infrastructure around the world. We believe the results of this experiment represent an important step toward the joint development of services provided by operators of different classes of satellite constellations," said Alexey Volin, CEO of Russian Satellite Communications Company.
