Japan announced the successful launch of WINDS, an experimental satellite carrying the latest high-speed Internet technology and aimed at delivering a much faster Internet service than DSL or cable, including in situations when the ground based network doesn’t work.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries collaborated on the project, and officially launched it On Saturday at 05:55 p.m. (0855 GMT) from the Tanegashima Space Center. For the time being, the satellite is still in tests, but if they prove successful, Asian subscribers will benefit from the internet connections multiple times faster than what is available on the market today.

 The technology is expected to become available to every home within the next five years. “The ‘KIZUNA’ (WINDS) … enables super high-speed data communications of up to 1.2 Gbps to develop a society without any information availability disparity, in which everybody can equally enjoy high-speed communications wherever they live,” JAXA official website says.

The satellite is “designed for a maximum down link rate of 155 Mbps with a 45-centimeter aperture antenna for home use, which is faster than commercial optical fiber,” and its technology could prove to be the most efficient in case of disasters, when land lines are down.

WINDS uses high-frequency radio-waves and features a Multi-Port Amplifier that will ensure data transmission in problematic areas, where boosting the radio-wave power will consume a lot of electricity. It also has two Multi Beam Antennas (MBAs) and an Active Phased array Antenna (APAA) for ensuring ultra high-speed communications in wide areas.

The advantages of such a technology go beyond the areas where Internet services are enabled. Remote islands or mountainous regions will benefit from it too, and it will be a great asset in case of emergency or disaster.

“I hope that satellite technology will be well incorporated into our lives,” Yasuo Nakamura, WINDS Project Manager, said on JAXA official website. “I’d like to see a society where everyone benefits from space technology without being aware of it. I hope the day soon comes when all satellite technologies are naturally embedded in our everyday life, and people don’t take space to be a special world. I’d like space to be part of our lives, and hopefully, WINDS will be a catalyst for this,” Nakamura added. 

Image credits: JAXA