- 3162 - LASERS - used in space communications. NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will be launching this summer, 2021. This laser hopes to demonstrate the dynamic powers of laser communications technologies.
- ----------------------- 3162 - LASERS - used in space communications.
- NASA's ever-increasing human and robotic presence in space can benefit from a new way of "talking" with Earth. Yes, using lasers to communicate in space can be much more effective.
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- Since the beginning of spaceflight in the 1950s, NASA missions have leveraged radio frequency communications to send data to and from space. Laser communications, i.e. optical communications, will further empower missions with unprecedented data capabilities.
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- Science instruments have evolved to capture high-definition data like 4K video. Laser communications will enable 10 to 100 times more data transmitted back to Earth than current radio frequency systems. It would take roughly nine weeks to transmit a complete map of Mars back to Earth with current radio frequency systems. With lasers, it would take about nine days.
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- Laser communications equipment are ideal for missions because they need less volume, weight, and power. Less mass means more room for science instruments, and less power means less of a drain of spacecraft power systems. These are all critically important considerations for NASA when designing and developing new missions.
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- Both radio waves and infrared light are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths at different points on the electromagnetic spectrum. Like radio waves, infrared light is invisible to the human eye, but we encounter it every day with things like television remotes and heat lamps.
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- Missions modulate their data onto the electromagnetic signals to traverse the distances between spacecraft and ground stations on Earth. As the communication travels, the waves spread out. The infrared light used for laser communications differs from radio waves because the infrared light packs the data into significantly tighter waves, meaning ground stations can receive more data at once.
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- While laser communications aren't necessarily faster, more data can be transmitted in one downlink. The laser communications terminals in space use narrower beam widths than radio frequency systems, providing smaller "footprints" that can minimize interference or improve security by drastically reducing the geographic area where someone could intercept a communications link.
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- However, a laser communications telescope pointing to a ground station must be exact when broadcasting from thousands or millions of miles away. A deviation of even a fraction of a degree can result in the laser missing its target entirely.
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- Located in geosynchronous orbit, about 22,000 miles above Earth, The laser will be able to support missions in the near-Earth region. It will spend its first two years testing this new laser communications capabilities with numerous experiments to refine laser technologies further, increasing our knowledge about potential future applications.
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- This summer’s initial experiment phase will leverage the mission's ground stations in California and Hawaii, Optical Ground Station 1 and 2, as simulated users. This will allow NASA to evaluate atmospheric disturbances on lasers and practice switching support from one user to the next as it orbit’s the Earth.
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- After the experiment phase, it will transition to supporting space missions, sending and receiving data to and from satellites over infrared lasers to demonstrate the benefits of a laser communications relay system.
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- The first in-space user will be the International Space Station in 2022 receiving high-quality science data from experiments and instruments onboard the space station and then transfer this data at 1.2 gigabits per second. The lasers will then transmit the data to ground stations at the same rate.
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- In 2013 Lunar Laser Communications downlinked data over a laser signal at 622 megabits-per-second, proving the capabilities of laser systems at the Moon. NASA has many other laser communications missions currently in different stages of development.
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- Each of these missions will increase our knowledge about the benefits and challenges of laser communications and further standardize the technology. It is slated to launch as a payload on a Department of Defense spacecraft on June 23, 2021.
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- It will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.---------------------------- Other reviews available:
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- 3103 - LASER - Laser Light is cool. Science is trying to use light pressure to cool objects by slowing down the vibration of atoms. The goal is to reach Absolute Zero temperatures and the ‘Ground State” of atom vibrations. The new science is called “optomechanics“.
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- 3025 - LASERS - a path to fusion power of stars? The hope is that such research could lead to fusion power plants, which could provide energy without emitting greenhouse gases or hazardous nuclear waste. These laser installations dedicate many of their experiments to pursuing fusion power. Mimicking the stars.
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- May 17, 2021 LASERS - used in space communications? 3162
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