Patent ID: 7403715

Claim:
A free space optical bus system implemented in a communication satellite orbiting the earth comprising: a first unit of circuitry of the free space optical bus system implemented in the communication satellite orbiting the earth comprising: an antenna array that translates a plurality of radio frequency signals into a plurality of electrical signals; an amplifier that provides a plurality of bus signals based on the plurality of electrical signals; a multiplexer that combines the plurality of bus signals to obtain an electronic combined signal; and a laser that is driven by the electronic combined signal to transmit an optical signal across a free space gap; a second unit of circuitry of the free space optical bus system implemented in the communication satellite orbiting the earth, separated from the first unit of circuitry by the free space gap, comprising: a photodetector that receives the optical signal and transforms it into an electronic composite signal; a demultiplexer that divides the composite signal into a plurality of constituent signals; and at least one analog signal processing component that processes at least one of the plurality of constituent signals.