GRAND FORKS — A research infrastructure project by UND will help both local customers and university students communicate with satellites through lasers.

The physics and astrophysics assistant professor who planned the lab, Markus Allgaier, said the project came together thanks to the help of UND Facilities and local contractors.

“There’s nothing here that comes from too far away,” he said.

UND’s Free-Space Optical Communication Lab is located in two parts – at the top and bottom of Witmer Hall. On the roof will be an observatory and telescope with the optics needed to point lasers at satellites and collect laser light data coming from them, which Allgaier said is the hardest part from the technology side. The observatory was initially planned to be installed Tuesday, Dec. 9, but we

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