Week in Space Data, every Friday.
RF, optical/laser, quantum, and DTN technologies. 13 SATCOM provider profiles. DSN architecture. Emerging trends in direct-to-device and deep space relay networks.
Every figure on this page was checked against the linked sources on 11 Oct 2026.
NASA's DSOC experiment streamed video by laser at its maximum 267 Mbps from nearly 19 million miles (December 2023); it aimed to show data rates 10 to 100 times greater than radio. SpaceX reported more than 10,000 operational space lasers on Starlink (March 2024), the SDA Transport Layer is building a military mesh network using optical crosslinks, and ESA and Airbus's EDRS SpaceDataHighway had completed 50,000 laser connections by June 2021.
Sources:jpl.nasa.govnasa.govadvanced-television.comsatellitetoday.comairbus.com
| Band | Frequency Range | Typical Uses |
|---|---|---|
| UHF | 0.3-1 GHz | IoT, low-rate telemetry and command |
| L-band | 1-2 GHz | Mobile satellite (Iridium, Globalstar), navigation (GPS, Galileo) |
| S-band | 2-4 GHz | TT&C, deep space command |
| C-band | 4-8 GHz | GEO communications, TV distribution |
| X-band | 8-12 GHz | Deep space science data, Earth observation, military |
| Ku-band | 12-18 GHz | Direct-to-home TV, maritime and aero broadband, VSAT |
| Ka-band | 27-40 GHz | HTS broadband, gateway links, deep space |
| V-band | 40-75 GHz | Next-generation HTS (authorized for Starlink Gen2) |
| Optical | 1,550 nm and 1,064 nm lasers | Inter-satellite links, relay, deep space demos |
Band ranges are the IEEE letter bands as listed by NASA.
One-way light time over the straight-line distance (speed of light 299,792.458 km/s). LEO, MEO and GEO are measured to a satellite directly overhead; real links add processing and routing delay.
Sources:physics.nist.govesa.intnssdc.gsfc.nasa.govnssdc.gsfc.nasa.govnssdc.gsfc.nasa.govnssdc.gsfc.nasa.govscience.nasa.gov
S-band (2-4 GHz) is widely used for telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) links. NASA's Deep Space Network and Near Space Network, the ISS and many small satellites use it.
X-band (8-12 GHz) is the main science data band for deep space missions: every DSN 34 m and 70 m antenna supports it. It is also used for Earth observation downlinks and military satellite communicati...
Ka-band (27-40 GHz) carries high-throughput satellite broadband and the highest-rate deep space links. Rain fade is severe, so links rely on adaptive coding and modulation.
V-band (40-75 GHz) offers wide bandwidth but suffers extreme rain fade and atmospheric absorption. In January 2026 the FCC authorized SpaceX to operate Gen2 Starlink satellites across Ku-, Ka-, V-, E-...
NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration launched on 7 December 2021 aboard STPSat-6 into geosynchronous orbit. It relays laser links at 1.2 Gbps with ground stations at Table Mountain (Califor...
The Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal was NASA's laser terminal on the ISS and the first space-based user to communicate with LCRD. It made its first laser link in Dece...
ESA and Airbus's European Data Relay System, branded SpaceDataHighway, relays data from low-orbit satellites through geostationary laser terminals at up to 1.8 Gbps. EDRS-A flies as a payload on Eutel...
NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications experiment flew on the Psyche spacecraft (launched October 2023). It streamed video at its maximum 267 Mbps from over 31 million km in December 2023, reached a...
Quantum key distribution shares encryption keys encoded in single photons. China's Micius satellite (launched August 2016) demonstrated satellite-to-ground QKD over about 1,200 km and an intercontinen...
Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking stores and forwards data bundles hop by hop, so it tolerates long light-time delays and broken links. Bundle Protocol version 7 is RFC 9171 (January 2022); NASA ha...