HILINK – the high-speed bridge between ground and payload

In Star Trek, ‘subspace’ or faster-than-light (FTL) communications are a means of instantly establishing contact with people and places light years away. While FTL only exists on the Enterprise, elsewhere in the universe anything which can improve the speed of a spacecraft’s communications is desirable. This is especially the case where control of the payload, the satellite’s precious cargo, is concerned.