Russian specialists conducted an experiment that could change the approach to the operation of small satellites. The state enterprise "Kosmicheskaya Svyaz" (Space Communications), together with the St. Petersburg Special Technological Center, successfully organized data transmission between spacecraft in different orbits.
During the tests, the small CSTP-2.11 satellite, operating in low Earth orbit at an altitude of up to 1500 km, transmitted information via an Express series satellite located in geostationary orbit at a distance of up to 36,000 km from Earth. The data transfer rate reached 0.5 Mbit/s.
To organize communication channels using satellites in different orbits for relaying, there is no need to deploy additional ground infrastructure around the world. We believe that the results of this experiment are an important step in the joint development of services for operators of spacecraft constellations of various classes.
The technology allows small satellites to transmit collected information faster, using large communication devices as space "transshipment points".
This is important for Earth remote sensing systems, natural resource monitoring, navigation, and operational data transmission.
