Free-spaceopticaltransceiver

The photographic project “Ground Truth: Corona Landmarks” is supported by the Land Arts Mobile Research Center/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

A writer and photographer document the ruined military base where the U.S. Air Force trained for the bombing of Hiroshima.

FSO communication uses encoded laser beams for high-bandwidth satellite communications and complements our extensive but ground-limited fiber optic global networks. It has emerged through the efforts of organizations like SpaceX, Starlink, and Amazon to provide higher bandwidth and secure links, connecting rural and hard-to-reach areas that have never had access to fiber optic networks.

In the Sonoran Desert south of Phoenix, Arizona, there is an array of giant concrete targets whose purpose was secret until about a decade ago. Each target is made of four triangular slabs that form an X about 60 feet wide. If you were to stumble across one of these strange monuments on a desert ramble, you would not see it as part of the larger array, as the targets are spaced a mile apart on a 16×16-mile grid. You might guess that it was meant to be seen from above, like the concrete arrows that guided navigation for U.S. airmail pilots, but in fact these mysterious Xs are conspicuously missing from flight maps. They are ground-truth markers for calibrating the first spy satellites, under a Cold War program known as Corona. Installed in the mid-1960s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the targets were left to ruin when the program was decommissioned in 1972. They were forgotten until 2004, when pilot Pez Owen traced the strange symbols she had seen from the air to the Corona program. 1 The declassified 16mm film A Point in Time tells the story of how the CIA and Air Force raced to build a space-based surveillance system after the launch of Sputnik. It must have seemed preposterous at the time: panoramic cameras filled with pounds of physical film were shot into space to take pictures of the Soviet Union and China, and then the records were sent back to Earth for analysis in heat-shielded capsules that fell through the atmosphere, shedding layers and unfurling parachutes caught by planes. After years of failed attempts, the plan actually worked. Map of spy satellite calibration targets in the Sonoran Desert. [Interactive map by Damon Sauer]With my colleague Damon Sauer, I have been exploring this array of ground-truth markers for the past several years. They are off Interstate 8, near the earthen building ruins of Casa Grande, interspersed among truck stops, quarries, alfalfa fields, and canals. Damon mapped the entire system, using images from Google Earth and historic aerial photographs, and we are visiting the surviving targets on foot. Our project inverts the original relation between the ground and outer space. While the Corona markers were meant to be seen from above, we have turned them into observatories for perceiving the invisible bodies in orbit today. We plot the location of all publicly known satellites that were overhead at the moment the photograph was taken. Our images are thus documentary records, aesthetic statements, and data maps, all at once. If you look closely, you can read the names of the satellites. Some are evocative, like “Globalstar” and “Cosmos,” while others indicate the purpose or country of origin. We were astonished by the number of satellites present in the sky at any given time (an emerging sustainability issue, as myriad metallic flecks encircle the globe). “Ground truth” is a term used in remote sensing to describe the correspondence between image data and physical features in the world. We were drawn to the term because it honors embodied or situated knowledge as a special kind of awareness, while also evoking photography’s tenuous relation to truth. Our project examines the relation between human beings and the pervasive information networks in which we are enmeshed. Our satellite tracings resemble star charts as old as civilization — a reminder that humans have always sought to orient themselves to the heavenly unknown. Ground Truth: Corona LandmarksSlideshowSlideshowCalibration Mark AG49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AE48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AC47 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AJ46 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AD48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AD49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AD51 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark X47 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AF49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AH49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AJ48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AM48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AM43 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark Y44 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AF48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AJ55 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AK46 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AE49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AN52 with Satellites.

Free Space opticalcommunication ppt

Free SpaceOptics companies

We believe the emerging free-space optical (FSO) communication technology will be critical to the future of telecommunication and networking, requiring high-precision mounts and gimbals controlling customized telescopes to establish and maintain optical links between satellites.

Free SpaceOptics equipment

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Advantages offree space opticalcommunication

A photographer’s journey along the Camino del Diablo in the Sonoran Desert, much of which is now a bombing range, reveals a landscape of forbidding danger and compelling beauty.

In the Sonoran Desert south of Phoenix, Arizona, there is an array of giant concrete targets whose purpose was secret until about a decade ago. Each target is made of four triangular slabs that form an X about 60 feet wide. If you were to stumble across one of these strange monuments on a desert ramble, you would not see it as part of the larger array, as the targets are spaced a mile apart on a 16×16-mile grid. You might guess that it was meant to be seen from above, like the concrete arrows that guided navigation for U.S. airmail pilots, but in fact these mysterious Xs are conspicuously missing from flight maps.

Free space communication uses line-of-sight technology to wirelessly transmit data for telecommunications and computer networking. It’s a key technology for connecting areas that can’t be reached by fiber optic technology and has been used most famously by Starlink to establish a global network that isn’t restricted by ground infrastructure. FSO communication is also expected to provide spacecraft with more data-flow options now that traditional radio frequencies are experiencing limitations.

For decades tourists have marveled at monumental dams of the American West. These days they trace infrastructures like satellite communications and nuclear waste transport.

Several of our telescopes, such as the RC700, RC1000, or Newtonian 700, have been designed for optical links, while our direct-drive mounts and gimbals provide fast and smooth tracking capabilities. Having worked with many organizations to develop and support these free-space optical communication systems, we understand that speed, accuracy, and stability are critical to successfully tracking satellites in orbit.

They are ground-truth markers for calibrating the first spy satellites, under a Cold War program known as Corona. Installed in the mid-1960s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the targets were left to ruin when the program was decommissioned in 1972. They were forgotten until 2004, when pilot Pez Owen traced the strange symbols she had seen from the air to the Corona program. 1

Free space opticalcommunication projects

We plot the location of all publicly known satellites that were overhead at the moment the photograph was taken. Our images are thus documentary records, aesthetic statements, and data maps, all at once. If you look closely, you can read the names of the satellites. Some are evocative, like “Globalstar” and “Cosmos,” while others indicate the purpose or country of origin. We were astonished by the number of satellites present in the sky at any given time (an emerging sustainability issue, as myriad metallic flecks encircle the globe).

Free space opticalfso

The declassified 16mm film A Point in Time tells the story of how the CIA and Air Force raced to build a space-based surveillance system after the launch of Sputnik. It must have seemed preposterous at the time: panoramic cameras filled with pounds of physical film were shot into space to take pictures of the Soviet Union and China, and then the records were sent back to Earth for analysis in heat-shielded capsules that fell through the atmosphere, shedding layers and unfurling parachutes caught by planes. After years of failed attempts, the plan actually worked.

We’ve been designing and supporting free-space optical communication systems for nearly 10 years. Our team would love to work with you on your next FSO communication project.

free-spaceopticalcommunication pdf

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Map of spy satellite calibration targets in the Sonoran Desert. [Interactive map by Damon Sauer]With my colleague Damon Sauer, I have been exploring this array of ground-truth markers for the past several years. They are off Interstate 8, near the earthen building ruins of Casa Grande, interspersed among truck stops, quarries, alfalfa fields, and canals. Damon mapped the entire system, using images from Google Earth and historic aerial photographs, and we are visiting the surviving targets on foot. Our project inverts the original relation between the ground and outer space. While the Corona markers were meant to be seen from above, we have turned them into observatories for perceiving the invisible bodies in orbit today. We plot the location of all publicly known satellites that were overhead at the moment the photograph was taken. Our images are thus documentary records, aesthetic statements, and data maps, all at once. If you look closely, you can read the names of the satellites. Some are evocative, like “Globalstar” and “Cosmos,” while others indicate the purpose or country of origin. We were astonished by the number of satellites present in the sky at any given time (an emerging sustainability issue, as myriad metallic flecks encircle the globe). “Ground truth” is a term used in remote sensing to describe the correspondence between image data and physical features in the world. We were drawn to the term because it honors embodied or situated knowledge as a special kind of awareness, while also evoking photography’s tenuous relation to truth. Our project examines the relation between human beings and the pervasive information networks in which we are enmeshed. Our satellite tracings resemble star charts as old as civilization — a reminder that humans have always sought to orient themselves to the heavenly unknown. Ground Truth: Corona LandmarksSlideshowSlideshowCalibration Mark AG49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AE48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AC47 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AJ46 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AD48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AD49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AD51 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark X47 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AF49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AH49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AJ48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AM48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AM43 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark Y44 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AF48 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AJ55 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AK46 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AE49 with Satellites.SlideshowCalibration Mark AN52 with Satellites.

With my colleague Damon Sauer, I have been exploring this array of ground-truth markers for the past several years. They are off Interstate 8, near the earthen building ruins of Casa Grande, interspersed among truck stops, quarries, alfalfa fields, and canals. Damon mapped the entire system, using images from Google Earth and historic aerial photographs, and we are visiting the surviving targets on foot. Our project inverts the original relation between the ground and outer space. While the Corona markers were meant to be seen from above, we have turned them into observatories for perceiving the invisible bodies in orbit today.

“Ground truth” is a term used in remote sensing to describe the correspondence between image data and physical features in the world. We were drawn to the term because it honors embodied or situated knowledge as a special kind of awareness, while also evoking photography’s tenuous relation to truth. Our project examines the relation between human beings and the pervasive information networks in which we are enmeshed. Our satellite tracings resemble star charts as old as civilization — a reminder that humans have always sought to orient themselves to the heavenly unknown.