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Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) is a laser space communication system in development meant to improve communications performance 10 to 100 times over the current
is scheduled to launch in 2022 on board NASA's robotic ''Psyche'' mission to study the giant metal asteroid known as
(PDF). Overview Poster. Biswas NASA July 2014. The transmitted beam-width is inversely proportional to the frequency used, so the shorter the wavelength used, the narrower and more focused a beam can be made. The downlink bandwidth will depend on the ground telescope diameter and will be less during daytime. Three key DSOC technologies developed for the project include:Game Changing Development: Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC)
(PDF). Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA. *a low-mass spacecraft disturbance isolation and pointing assembly for operating in the presence of spacecraft vibrational disturbance. *a high-efficiency flight laser transmitter; *a pair of high-efficiency photon counting detector arrays for the flight optical transceiver and the ground-based receiver (a telescope).
Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) is a laser space communication system in development meant to improve communications performance 10 to 100 times over the current radio frequency
Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the uppe ...
technology without incurring increases in mass, volume or power. DSOC will be capable of providing high bandwidth
Bandwidth commonly refers to:
* Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range
* Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...
downlinks from beyond cislunar space.
The project is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States.
Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA ...
(JPL) in Pasadena, California.
Overview
Future human expeditions may require a steady stream of high-definition imagery, live video feeds, and real-time data transmission acrossdeep space
Deep Space may refer to:
NASA
* Deep Space Network (disambiguation), international network of satellite ground stations
** Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, satellite ground station in California, US
** Madrid Deep Space Communicatio ...
to enable timely guidance and updates during the long-distance journeys. Even at its maximum data rate of 5.2 megabits per second (Mbps), the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, a ...
(MRO) requires 7.5 hours to transmit all of its onboard recorder, and 1.5 hours to send a single HiRISE image to be processed back on Earth. New high-resolution hyperspectral imagers put further demands on their communications system, requiring even higher data rates.16 Psyche
16 Psyche () is a large M-type asteroid discovered by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on 17 March 1852 and named after the Greek goddess Psyche.
The prefix "16" signifies that it was the sixteenth minor planet in order of ...
. The laser beams from the spacecraft will be received by a ground telescope at Palomar Observatory
Palomar Observatory is an astronomical research observatory in San Diego County, California, United States, in the Palomar Mountain Range. It is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Research time at the observat ...
in California. Laser beams to the spacecraft will be sent from a smaller telescope at the Table Mountain Observatory
Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) is an astronomical observation facility operated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute of Technology). It is located in Big Pines, California, in Angeles National Forest near Wrightwood, north ...
in California.
Design
This new technology will employ advancedlaser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...
s in the near-infrared region (1.55 µm) of the electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies (the spectrum) of electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths and photon energies.
The electromagnetic spectrum covers electromagnetic waves with frequencies ranging from ...
. The architecture is based on transmitting a laser beacon from Earth to assist line-of-sight stabilization and pointing back of the downlink laser beam. In addition, efficient codes are used for error free communications. The system must correct for background noise (scattered light) from Earth's atmosphere and the Sun. The performance of the uplink is expected to be 292 kbit/s at a distance of 0.4 AU.Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC)(PDF). Overview Poster. Biswas NASA July 2014. The transmitted beam-width is inversely proportional to the frequency used, so the shorter the wavelength used, the narrower and more focused a beam can be made. The downlink bandwidth will depend on the ground telescope diameter and will be less during daytime. Three key DSOC technologies developed for the project include:Game Changing Development: Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC)
(PDF). Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA. *a low-mass spacecraft disturbance isolation and pointing assembly for operating in the presence of spacecraft vibrational disturbance. *a high-efficiency flight laser transmitter; *a pair of high-efficiency photon counting detector arrays for the flight optical transceiver and the ground-based receiver (a telescope).
''Psyche'' mission
A Deep Space Optical Communication demonstration will be included with NASA's ''Psyche'' mission, scheduled for launch in mid-2023. The ''Psyche'' spacecraft will explore the metal asteroid16 Psyche
16 Psyche () is a large M-type asteroid discovered by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis on 17 March 1852 and named after the Greek goddess Psyche.
The prefix "16" signifies that it was the sixteenth minor planet in order of ...
, reaching at the asteroid belt in 2029.
See also
*References
{{Lasers Laser communication in space