Satellite Constellations: LEO Routing
High-Speed Laser Links in Orbit
The Altitude Revolution
For decades, satellite internet meant Geostationary (GEO) satellites sitting 35,000 km up. The light-speed round trip alone created ~600ms of latency. LEO satellites sit at 550 km, bringing latency down to 20-40ms—competitive with fiber.
Orbital Laser Mesh (ISL) Simulator
Lower Earth Orbit Dynamic Routing Engine
Physics Fact: Light travels at ~200,000 km/s in fiber, but ~300,000 km/s in the vacuum of space. ISLs are physically faster than terrestrial fiber.
Lasers create a mesh in a vacuum. Data bypasses the earth's atmosphere and fiber-optic glass, achieving the shortest possible path between any two points.
Routing in space is a 4D challenge. Paths change every second as satellites cross planes. SDN controllers recalculate meshes in real-time.
Laser Links: The Orbital Backbone
Early LEO satellites were 'bent pipes'—they had to see both the user and a ground station simultaneously to work. Inter-Satellite Laser Links (ISL) changed everything.
Satellites can now beam data to each other in a vacuum. Because light travels 30% faster in a vacuum than in fiber-optic glass, an orbital path from New York to London can actually be faster than the subsea cable.
Ground Segment Synchronization
The 'handover' is the critical moment. As a satellite disappears over the horizon, the ground terminal must seamlessly track and electronically 'steer' its beam to the next incoming satellite without dropping a single packet.
Conclusion
LEO constellations are the first step toward a truly global internet. By moving the backbone into the vacuum of space, we aren't just reaching rural areas; we are creating a lower-latency alternative to the terrestrial fiber grid.