Starlink and ConnetmeNow offer Internet services using satellites to remote areas with speeds reaching several hundred Mbps. Fast by the yardstick of 10 years ago but no longer in 2023. Therefore a faster satellite Internet system is needed for the needs of astronauts orbiting the earth and communication when humans begin to explore space.
The new world record for fastest Internet speed from space to earth is currently held by CubeSat Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator 3 (PTD-3) by Terran Orbit which transmits data at a speed of 200 Gbps. This is done at a distance of 480 kilometers between the satellite and the receiving station on earth.
PTD-3 uses a laser to transmit data rather than the X-band radio frequency that current satellite Internet systems use. Laser systems offer wider bandwidth for better Internet speeds. This technology was jointly developed by NASA and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
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