NASA Laser Communication System Sets Record with Data Transmissions to and from Moon

[Richard O'Neill]

*RELEASE: 13-309*

*NASA Laser Communication System Sets Record with Data Transmissions to 
and from Moon*

NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) has made history 
using a pulsed laser beam to transmit data over the 239,000 miles 
between the moon and Earth at a record-breaking download rate of 622 
megabits per second (Mbps).

LLCD is NASA's first system for two-way communication using a laser 
instead of radio waves. It also has demonstrated an error-free data 
upload rate of 20 Mbps transmitted from the primary ground station in 
New Mexico to the spacecraft currently orbiting the moon.

"LLCD is the first step on our roadmap toward building the next 
generation of space communication capability," said Badri Younes, NASA's 
deputy associate administrator for space communications and navigation 
(SCaN) in Washington. "We are encouraged by the results of the 
demonstration to this point, and we are confident we are on the right 
path to introduce this new capability into operational service soon."

Since NASA first ventured into space, it has relied on radio frequency 
(RF) communication. However, RF is reaching its limit as demand for more 
data capacity continues to increase. The development and deployment of 
laser communications will enable NASA to extend communication 
capabilities such as increased image resolution and 3-D video 
transmission from deep space.

"The goal of LLCD is to validate and build confidence in this technology 
so that future missions will consider using it," said Don Cornwell, LLCD 
manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This 
unique ability developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's 
Lincoln Laboratory has incredible application possibilities."

LLCD is a short-duration experiment and the precursor to NASA's 
long-duration demonstration, the Laser Communications Relay 
Demonstration (LCRD). LCRD is a part of the agency's Technology 
Demonstration Missions Program, which is working to develop crosscutting 
technology capable of operating in the rigors of space. It is scheduled 
to launch in 2017.

LLCD is hosted aboard NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment 
Explorer (LADEE), launched in September from NASA's Wallops Flight 
Facility on Wallops Island, Va. LADEE is a 100-day robotic mission 
operated by the agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. 
LADEE's mission is to provide data that will help NASA determine whether 
dust caused the mysterious glow astronauts observed on the lunar horizon 
during several Apollo missions. It also will explore the moon's 
atmosphere. Ames designed, developed, built, integrated and tested 
LADEE, and manages overall operations of the spacecraft. NASA's Science 
Mission Directorate in Washington funds the LADEE mission.

The LLCD system, flight terminal and primary ground terminal at NASA's 
White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M., were developed by the 
Lincoln Laboratory at MIT. The Table Mountain Optical Communications 
Technology Laboratory operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 
Pasadena, Calif., is participating in the demonstration. A third ground 
station operated by the European Space Agency on Tenerife in the Canary 
Islands also will be participating in the demonstration.

For more information about LLCD, visit:

*http://llcd.gsfc.nasa.gov*

For more information about the LADEE mission, visit:

*http://www.nasa.gov/ladee*

For more information about LCRD, visit:

*http://esc.gsfc.nasa.gov/267/LCRD.html*

For more information about SCaN, visit:

*http://www.nasa.gov/scan*


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