NASA uses the International Space Station - a football field-sized spacecraft orbiting Earth - to learn more about living and working in space. For over 20 years, the space station has provided a unique platform for investigation and research in areas like biology, technology, agriculture, and more. It serves as a home for astronauts conducting experiments, including advancing NASA's space communications capabilities.
In 2023, NASA is sending a technology demonstration known as the Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) to the space station. Together, ILLUMA-T and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which launched in December 2021, will complete NASA's first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system.
With ILLUMA-T, NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program office will demonstrate the power of laser communications from the space station. Using invisible infrared light, laser communications systems send and receive information at higher data rates. With higher data rates, missions can send more images and videos back to Earth in a single transmission. Once installed on the space station, ILLUMA-T will showcase the benefits higher data rates could have for missions in low Earth orbit.
"Laser communications offer missions more flexibility and an expedited way to get data back from space," said Badri Younes, former deputy associate administrator for NASA's SCaN program. "We are integrating this technology on demonstrations near Earth, at the Moon, and in deep space."
In addition to higher data rates, laser systems are lighter and use less power - a key benefit when designing spacecraft. ILLUMA-T is approximately the size of a standard refrigerator and will be secured to an external module on the space station to conduct its demonstration with LCRD.
Currently, LCRD is showcasing the benefits of a laser relay in geosynchronous orbit - 22,000 miles from Earth - by beaming data between two ground stations and conducting experiments to further refine NASA's laser capabilities.
"Once ILLUMA-T is on the space station, the terminal will send high-resolution data, including pictures and videos to LCRD at a rate of 1.2 gigabits-per-second," said Matt Magsamen, deputy project manager for ILLUMA-T. "Then, the data will be sent from LCRD to ground stations in Hawaii and California. This demonstration will show how laser communications can benefit missions in low Earth orbit."
ILLUMA-T is launching as a payload on SpaceX's 29th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA. In the first two weeks after its launch, ILLUMA-T will be removed from the Dragon spacecraft's trunk for installation on the station's Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility (JEM-EF), also known as "Kibo" - meaning "hope" in Japanese.
Following the payload's installation, the ILLUMA-T team will perform preliminary testing and in-orbit checkouts. Once completed, the team will make a pass for the payload's first light - a critical milestone where the mission transmits its first beam of laser light through its optical telescope to LCRD.
Once first light is achieved, data transmission and laser communications experiments will begin and continue throughout the duration of the planned mission.
Testing Lasers in Different Scenarios
In the future, operational laser communications will supplement radio frequency systems, which most space-based missions use today to send data home. ILLUMA-T is not the first mission to test laser communications in space but brin
gs NASA closer to operational infusion of the technology.
Aside from LCRD, ILLUMA-T's predecessors include the 2022 TeraByte InfraRed Delivery system, which is currently testing laser communications on a small CubeSat in low Earth orbit; the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration, which transferred data to and from lunar orbit to the Earth and back during the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission in 2014; and the 2017 Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science, which demonstrated how laser communications can speed up the flow of information between Earth and space compared to radio signals.
Testing the ability for laser communications to produce higher data rates in a variety of scenarios will help the aerospace community further refine the capability for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and deep space.
Artificial Intelligence Analysis
Defense Industry Analyst:
7/10
Stock Market Analyst:
6/10
General Industry Analyst:
8/10
Analysts
Summary:
NASA is deploying a two-way laser communication relay system, composed of the Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA T) and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), to the Space Station in 202
3. This technology provides higher data rates, lighter components, and uses less power compared to traditional communication systems. This demonstration will showcase the capabilities of laser communication to provide flexibility and expedited data transmission. In addition, this technology could have a number of implications for missions in low Earth orbit as well as deep space exploration. This article reflects the evolution of the space and defense industry over the past 25 years. Since the first mission to the International Space Station in 1998, there have been a number of advances in space communication technology, including the development of laser communication systems. This article highlights the potential of these systems, and the progress made in the space and defense industry over the past two decades.
Investigative
Question:
1) What are the potential implications of this technology for missions in deep space? 2) How will higher data rates affect the quality of images and videos transmitted from space? 3) What other applications could this technology have beyond space exploration? 4) How will the integration of this technology on the International Space Station impact the efficiency of communication with other spacecrafts? 5) How do the costs of using this technology compare to traditional communication systems?
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