NASA sets up laser communication system for gigabit connections in space

NASA is working on the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration system to deploy broadband internet in space missions. The laser-based connections should be able to realize data rates of gigabits per second.

NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, or lcrd, aims to provide high-speed connections for obtaining science data from spacecraft and communications from astronauts. Laser-based systems not only provide connections ten to one hundred times faster than current RF-based communication systems, but also the laser modules are significantly smaller, with advantages in terms of weight, consumption and size.

Lcrd is a relay satellite consisting of two identical optical terminals: one for spacecraft and one for communication with Earth. The terminals are connected to each other via a router, the space switching unit. Modems translate digital signals into RF and laser signals and vice versa, and optical modules precisely target the laser beams at two ground stations in California and Hawaii. Actuators must correct any movements such as vibrations.

NASA has started the test phase for the system and plans to launch the first modules into space in the summer of 2019. Subsequently, the International Space Station must be equipped with a laser terminal in 2021. NASA expects LCRD to function in space for about two to five years.

The organization is building on the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration with the project. This mission, which began in 2013, was intended to test low-orbit laser communications. LCD needs to prove long-term performance under different conditions and scenarios.

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