This manuscript reviews recent progress in optical frequency references and optical
communication systems and discusses their utilizations in global satellite navigation
systems and satellite geodesy. Lasers stabilized with optical cavities or spectroscopy of
molecular iodine are analyzed, and a hybrid architecture is proposed to combine both forms
of stabilization with the aim of achieving a target frequency stability of 10-15 [s/s] over a wide
range of sampling intervals. The synchronization between two optical frequency references …