EPL

Challenges

Space is the perfect environment to observe Earth (temperature, terrain, land use, atmosphere, etc.) and develop telecommunications systems with coverage of the entire planet (such as the Starlink satellite constellation, for example). However, high-speed communication systems are needed to transfer the collected data back to Earth or allow large numbers of users to use a system simultaneously.

UCLouvain’s contribution

At UCLouvain, Professor Claude Oestges specialises in wireless and satellite communications. He and his team are studying the possibility of developing very high-bandwidth laser telecommunications systems for satellite-to-ground communications. More specifically, he is studying atmospheric effects on laser beam propagation in order to compensate for these disruptions with the optical equipment used within the communication chain.