Laser communication in space
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Laser communication in space is the use of free-space optical communication in outer space. Communication may be fully in space or in a ground-to-satellite or satellite-to-ground application. The main
Depiction of the optical module of the LLCD
Rendering of the successful OPALS experiment, the invisible laser shown here as a visible beam
Mynaric optical communication terminal intended for satellite use
Nd:YAG laser
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Nd:YAG is a crystal that is used as a lasing medium for solid-state lasers. The dopant, neodymium in the +3 oxidation state, Nd, typically replaces a small fraction of the yttrium ions in the host cry
Laser communication in space
…two-way distance record for communication was set by the Mercury laser altimeter instrument aboard the MESSENGER spacecraft. This diode-pumped infrared neodymium laser, designed as a laser altimeter for a Mercury orbit mission, was able to communicate across a distance of 24,000,000 km (15,000,000 mi), as the craft…
Nd:YAG laser with lid open showing frequency-doubled 532 nm green light
Nd:YAG laser rod
Slit lamp photograph of posterior capsular opacification visible a few months after implantation of intraocular lens in eye, seen on retroillumination
Military surplus Nd:YAG laser rangefinder firing. The laser fires through a collimator, focusing the beam, which blasts a hole through a rubber block, releasing a burst of plasma.