International Space Station beams a video back to Earth using lasers (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/07/opals-video-transmit/ / NASA International Space Station ISS laser beams transmit large amounts of data from space project Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science beamed 27 second Hello, World video Earth transmission 148 seconds system 3.5 seconds send each copy video clip project's ground station Table Mountain Observatory in California radio waves based technologies 10 minutes OPALS connection peak of 50 megabits per second hardware ISS detect beacon fired ground station send signals laser beam back ground extremely difficult ISS orbit orbits planet 260 miles above ground 17,500 mph miles per hour NASA feat shining laser pointer tip of someone's hair 30 feet away ISS faster connection communication future spacecraft SF sci-fi deep space exploration /