Sony has been researching and developing optical communications systems that are small enough to fit microsatellites, which NASA defines as spacecraft between 10 and 100 kilograms.
The Japanese conglomerate said June 2 it founded Sony Space Communications (SSC), SSC plans to apply its optical disc technology to create satellite communication devices that are ultra-compact, lightweight, mass-producible and able to withstand harsh conditions in space.
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Building out an optical system that talks to the ground directly, data that can be delayed until a clear (clouds) ground station can be found. Having multiple ground stations will help with the cloud issue, assuming they're not all covered at once. If you have enough ground stations scattered around the globe and also enough satellites with inter-satellite links to ping data around until you have good line-of-sight to a ground station...