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12 July 2019 Optical communications downlink from a 1.5U Cubesat: OCSD program
T. S. Rose, D. W. Rowen, S. LaLumondiere, N. I. Werner, R. Linares, A. Faler, J. Wicker, C. M. Coffman, G. A. Maul, D. H. Chien, A. Utter, R. P. Welle, S. W. Janson
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Proceedings Volume 11180, International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2018; 111800J (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2535938
Event: International Conference on Space Optics - ICSO 2018, 2018, Chania, Greece
Abstract
In this presentation, we discuss the first demonstration of a lasercom downlink from a LEO 1.5U 2.3 kg CubeSat to our optical ground station at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA. Two vehicles, AC7-B&C, built under NASA’s Optical Communications and Sensors Demonstration (OCSD) program and described in previous presentations, were launched in November 2017 and placed in a 450-km circular orbit. Following on-orbit checkouts and preliminary pointing calibration utilizing on-board star trackers, we have demonstrated (at the time of this manuscript submission) communications links up to 100 Mbps with bit error rates near 10-6 without any forward error correction. Further optimization of the vehicle pointing and detection electronics and operating the transmitter at its full power capacity should enable performance improvements and potential for higher data rates.
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T. S. Rose, D. W. Rowen, S. LaLumondiere, N. I. Werner, R. Linares, A. Faler, J. Wicker, C. M. Coffman, G. A. Maul, D. H. Chien, A. Utter, R. P. Welle, and S. W. Janson "Optical communications downlink from a 1.5U Cubesat: OCSD program", Proc. SPIE 11180, International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2018, 111800J (12 July 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2535938
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KEYWORDS
Stars
Sensors
Space operations
Satellites
Transmitters
Neodymium
Optical communications
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