Hitting a golf ball with a laser at 33,000 feet

European Space Agency relays optical links to an aircraft

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced this week it had relayed optical laser links from an aircraft.

The agency says the relay was a first for the industry and would ultimately offer faster, more reliable interference free-data- relay applications with airborne carriers. The system could also have defense and or military applications. No timetable for services based on such as system were disclosed.

The ESA says the airborne laser links conducted earlier this month were established over a distance of 25,000 miles during flights at altitudes of about 20,000 and 33,000 feet -- a feat equivalent to targeting a golf ball flying between Paris and Brussels, the agency said.

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The European Space Agency (ESA) announced this week it had relayed optical laser links from an aircraft.

The agency says the relay was a first for the industry and would ultimately offer faster, more reliable interference free-data- relay applications with airborne carriers. The system could also have defense and or military applications. No timetable for services based on such as system were disclosed.

The ESA says the airborne laser links conducted earlier this month were established over a distance of 25,000 miles during flights at altitudes of about 20,000 and 33,000 feet -- a feat equivalent to targeting a golf ball flying between Paris and Brussels, the agency said.

Specifically, the relay was set up through six two-way optical links between a Dassault Mystère 20 aircraft equipped with the airborne laser optical link LOLA (Liaison Optique Laser Aéroportée) and the SILEX laser link payload on board the ESA’s ARTEMIS satellite in its geostationary orbital position.

Airborn laser systems have been in the works in one capacity or another for years as military defense systems.

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