Key Takeaways
1. The Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR) achieved a satellite-to-ground laser communication speed of 120 Gbps, a significant milestone in data transmission from space.
2. This accomplishment follows earlier successes of 10 Gbps in 2023 and 60 Gbps in 2025.
3. The experiment used a self-designed laser ground station on the Pamir Plateau, communicating with the AIRSAT-02 satellite.
4. The increase in transmission speed was achieved by reconfiguring software in orbit, without physical changes to the satellite.
5. The new system demonstrates high stability and efficiency, compared to previous lower-speed standards.
The Aerospace Information Research Institute (AIR), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has successfully carried out an operational application experiment that has surpassed the 100-gigabit-per-second (Gbps) mark for satellite-to-ground laser communication. They achieved a maximum transmission speed of 120 Gbps, marking a major advancement in the ability to transmit data quickly from space.
Previous Achievements
This success follows a series of rapid technological advancements by the AIR team, which previously achieved transmission speeds of 10 Gbps in 2023 and 60 Gbps in 2025. The latest experiment employed a self-designed laser ground station with a 500-millimeter aperture located on the Pamir Plateau in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. It communicated directly with the AIRSAT-02 satellite.
Innovative Engineering
The engineering team accomplished this milestone without making any physical changes to the AIRSAT-02 satellite. They effectively increased the transmission capacity from 60 Gbps to 120 Gbps solely by reconfiguring the software in orbit, thereby fully tapping into the capabilities of the current laser communication system.
Stability and Efficiency
Test data confirms the new system’s stability and efficiency. Li Yalin, a senior engineer at AIR and the technical lead for the project, pointed out the remarkable challenges involved in this progress. He likened the previous 10 Gbps standard to a basic single-lane bridge, while he described the 120 Gbps achievement as a sophisticated multi-lane highway that necessitates both quick construction and efficient parallel traffic management.