SPACE — The International Space Station (ISS) will hold an important technology demonstration this November. The ILLUMA-T (Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal) payload was launched to the ISS last week.
The demonstration aims to show how missions in low Earth orbit can benefit from laser communications. This communication uses invisible infrared light to send and receive information at higher data rates. The technology is expected to give spacecraft the ability to send more data to Earth in a single transmission and speed up discoveries for researchers.
Managed by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program, ILLUMA-T will collaborate with the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) in a two-way, end-to-end laser communications relay process. LCRD was launched in December 2021 and has demonstrated the benefits of laser communications from geosynchronous orbit. It transmits data between two stations on Earth in a series of experiments.
Some of LCRD’s experiments included studying the impact of the atmosphere on laser signals, confirming LCRD’s capabilities when working with multiple users. Then, test network capabilities such as delay/interference tolerant networks (DTN) over laser links, and investigate improved navigation capabilities.
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Once ILLUMA-T is installed on the exterior of the space station, its payload will complete NASA’s first demonstration of two-way laser relay capabilities in space.
ILLUMA-T’s optical module consists of a telescope and a two-axis gimbal that allows it to point and track the LCRD in geosynchronous orbit. The optical module is the size of a microwave and the payload is comparable to that of a standard refrigerator.
ILLUMA-T will relay data from the space station to the LCRD at a speed of 1.2 gigabits per second. Then, LCRD will send the data to an optical ground station in California or Hawaii.
Once the data reaches the ground station, it will be sent to the LCRD Mission Operations Center located at NASA’s White Sands Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After that, the data will be sent to the ILLUMA-T ground operations team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
There, engineers will determine whether the data sent through the end-to-end relay process is accurate and of high quality. “NASA Goddard’s primary role is to ensure successful laser communications and payload operations with the LCRD and the space station,” said ILLUMA-T Deputy Project Manager Matt Magsamen.
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After ILLUMA-T transmitted its first laser beam through its optical telescope to the LCRD, the end-to-end laser communications experiment began. After the experimental phase with the LCRD, ILLUMA-T will become an operational part of the space station. That would significantly increase the amount of data NASA can send to and from the orbiting laboratory.
Sending data to relay satellites is not a new feat for the space station. Since its completion in 1998, the orbiting laboratory has relied on a fleet of radio frequency relay satellites known as NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellites. Relay satellites provide missions with constant contact with Earth because they can see the spacecraft and ground antennas at the same time.
Laser communications are important for researchers on Earth working in parallel with science and technology investigations on the space station.
ILLUMA-T can provide increased data rates for experiments and send more data at once to Earth. Source: Space.com
2023-10-28 12:46:00
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