The future of NASA's laser communications

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 02:31:20 GMT
Space Daily

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 12, 2022 NASA uses lasers to send information to and from Earth, employing...

"We are thrilled by the promise laser communications will offer in the coming years," says Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator and program manager for Space Communications and Navigation at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

"These missions and demonstrations usher in NASA's new Decade of Light in which NASA will work with other government agencies and the commercial sector to dramatically expand future communications capabilities for space exploration and enable vibrant and robust economic opportunities."

Laser communications can supplement radio frequency communications, which most NASA missions use today.

Laser Communications Relay Demonstration On Dec. 7, 2021, the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration launched into orbit, about 22,000 miles from Earth to test the capabilities of laser communications.

Experiments provided by NASA, other government agencies, academia, and industry are measuring the long-term effects of the atmosphere on laser communications signals; assessing the technology's applicability for future missions; and testing on-orbit laser relay capabilities.

TBIRD will showcase 200-gigabit-per-second data downlinks - the highest optical rate ever achieved by NASA. TBIRD is continuing NASA's optical communications infusion by demonstrating the benefits lasers communications could have for near-Earth science missions that capture important data and large detailed images.

TBIRD is sending back terabytes of data in a single pass, demonstrating the benefits of higher bandwidth, and giving NASA more insight into the capabilities of laser communications on small satellites.

"ILLUMA-T and LCRD will work together to become the first laser system to demonstrate low-Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit to ground communications links," said Chetan Sayal, project manager for ILLUMA-T at NASA Goddard.

Currently, NASA is working on a future terminal that could test laser communications against extreme distances and challenging pointing constraints.

Whether bringing laser communications to near-Earth missions, the Moon, or deep space, the infusion of optical systems will be integral for future NASA missions.