Boeing laser research program could revolutionize communications—both on Earth and in deep space BY DAN RALEY Inside a windowless, gray building near Los Angeles International Airport, Boeing engineers insist they can see the future— it offers deep-space exploration to Mars and beyond, Wall Street stock prices and other financial information delivered at lightning speed, and Internet that reaches every corner of Earth. But for all of this to happen, and much more, the men and women at Boeing’s Satellite Development Center in El Segundo, Calif., must convert current laser communications technology into something more Photo: Laser communications, or Lasercom, electrical engineer Yongqiang Shi works on laser communications system technology at the team’s lab in El Segundo, Calif. BOB FERGUSON | BOEING HT SPEED DECEMBER 2015–JANUARY 2016 13
Frontiers December 2015 - January 2016 Issue
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