18-11-2017, 09:32 AM
NASA introduced a process of accommodation in a space through the laser communication relay. NASA's laser broadband features a terminal payload on board a Loral satellite that will be launched in 2016. It will be the commercial satellite that will provide the size, power system and location to implement the space laser communication. Through this technology, the data rate potential increases to 100 times more than the traditional form of radio frequency that has much less power and mass.
When NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) begins operating on board the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission managed by NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, it will attempt to show bidirectional laser communication beyond the Earth, expanding the possibility of transmitting large amounts of data. This new capability could one day allow high-definition 3-D video transmissions in deep space to become routine.
"The objective of the LLCD experiment is to validate and build confidence in this technology for future missions to consider using it," said Don Cornwell, manager of LLCD. "This unique capability developed by MIT (Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has incredible application possibilities and we are very excited about the implementation of this instrument."
Since NASA first ventured into space, through moon landings, the shuttle program and unmanned exploration missions, radio frequency communication, also known as RF, has been the communication platform used. But RF is reaching its limit just when the demand for more data capacity continues to rise. The development of laser communications will give NASA the ability to expand communication applications, such as higher image resolution and even 3-D video transmission in deep space.
LLCD is NASA's first dedicated system for bidirectional communication using lasers instead of radio waves. "LLCD is designed to send six times more data from the moon using a smaller transmitter with 25 percent less energy compared to the next-generation radio (RF) system," said Cornwell. "Lasers are also safer and less susceptible to interference and jamming."
The LLCD experiment takes place aboard NASA's LADEE: a 100-day robotic mission designed, built, integrated, tested and operated by Ames. LADEE will try to confirm if the dust caused a mysterious glow on the lunar horizon that astronauts observed during several Apollo missions and explore the moon's tenuous and exotic atmosphere. The launch of the LADEE spacecraft is scheduled for September aboard a Minotaur V rocket from the US Air Force, a ballistic missile converted into a spacecraft and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., From the Wallops flight facility of NASA on Wallops Island. Virginia.
The LADEE spacecraft will take 30 days to reach the moon due to its flight path. LLCD will begin operations shortly after reaching the lunar orbit and will continue for 30 days afterwards.
The main objective of LLCD's mission is to transmit hundreds of millions of bits of data per second from the moon to Earth. This is equivalent to transmitting more than 100 HD television channels simultaneously. The ability to receive LLCD will also be tested as tens of millions of bits per second are sent from Earth to the spacecraft. These demonstrations will demonstrate that the technology to increase bandwidth for future missions is possible.
There is a primary ground terminal at NASA's White Sands Complex in New Mexico, to receive and transmit LLCD signals. The MIT team designed, built and tested the terminal. They will also be responsible for the operation of LLCD on that site.
There are two alternative sites, one located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which is just to receive. The other is being provided by the European Space Agency on the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of Africa. Will have bidirectional communication capability with LLCD. "Having multiple sites gives us alternatives that greatly reduce the possibility of cloud interference," Cornwell said.
When NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) begins operating on board the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission managed by NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, it will attempt to show bidirectional laser communication beyond the Earth, expanding the possibility of transmitting large amounts of data. This new capability could one day allow high-definition 3-D video transmissions in deep space to become routine.
"The objective of the LLCD experiment is to validate and build confidence in this technology for future missions to consider using it," said Don Cornwell, manager of LLCD. "This unique capability developed by MIT (Lincoln Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has incredible application possibilities and we are very excited about the implementation of this instrument."
Since NASA first ventured into space, through moon landings, the shuttle program and unmanned exploration missions, radio frequency communication, also known as RF, has been the communication platform used. But RF is reaching its limit just when the demand for more data capacity continues to rise. The development of laser communications will give NASA the ability to expand communication applications, such as higher image resolution and even 3-D video transmission in deep space.
LLCD is NASA's first dedicated system for bidirectional communication using lasers instead of radio waves. "LLCD is designed to send six times more data from the moon using a smaller transmitter with 25 percent less energy compared to the next-generation radio (RF) system," said Cornwell. "Lasers are also safer and less susceptible to interference and jamming."
The LLCD experiment takes place aboard NASA's LADEE: a 100-day robotic mission designed, built, integrated, tested and operated by Ames. LADEE will try to confirm if the dust caused a mysterious glow on the lunar horizon that astronauts observed during several Apollo missions and explore the moon's tenuous and exotic atmosphere. The launch of the LADEE spacecraft is scheduled for September aboard a Minotaur V rocket from the US Air Force, a ballistic missile converted into a spacecraft and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., From the Wallops flight facility of NASA on Wallops Island. Virginia.
The LADEE spacecraft will take 30 days to reach the moon due to its flight path. LLCD will begin operations shortly after reaching the lunar orbit and will continue for 30 days afterwards.
The main objective of LLCD's mission is to transmit hundreds of millions of bits of data per second from the moon to Earth. This is equivalent to transmitting more than 100 HD television channels simultaneously. The ability to receive LLCD will also be tested as tens of millions of bits per second are sent from Earth to the spacecraft. These demonstrations will demonstrate that the technology to increase bandwidth for future missions is possible.
There is a primary ground terminal at NASA's White Sands Complex in New Mexico, to receive and transmit LLCD signals. The MIT team designed, built and tested the terminal. They will also be responsible for the operation of LLCD on that site.
There are two alternative sites, one located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which is just to receive. The other is being provided by the European Space Agency on the Spanish island of Tenerife, off the coast of Africa. Will have bidirectional communication capability with LLCD. "Having multiple sites gives us alternatives that greatly reduce the possibility of cloud interference," Cornwell said.