While the experiment is not the first for space-to-Earth laser communications, it’s the first using a commercially available ground station, according to Morizur.
The article should have mentioned the NASA test, though
You just know someone in the chain wanted to be able to say, ‘we were the first’, then they got fact checked and had to add in that qualifier of commercially available ground station.
Cool, but I’m not sure what they’re claiming to be first at. NASA did 200 Gbps over a year ago: https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/ames/nasa-partners-achieve-fastest-space-to-ground-laser-comms-link/
The article should have mentioned the NASA test, though
You just know someone in the chain wanted to be able to say, ‘we were the first’, then they got fact checked and had to add in that qualifier of commercially available ground station.