Status of NASA's deep space optical communication technology demonstration

TLDR

NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) Project at JPL is planning a system‑level technology demonstration of optical communications from deep space. The paper reports on the development of a 22 cm flight laser transceiver and summarizes the current status of DSOC project activities for flight and ground systems. The DSOC system uses a 22 cm FLT that transmits 4 W at 1550 nm and receives >100 fW at 1064 nm, employs the Hale telescope with a photon‑counting receiver for downlink, uses the OCTL to transmit a 1064 nm beacon for pointing, and is integrated into the Psyche mission payload to support downlink rates of 0.2–>200 Mb/s and uplink rates of ~1.6 kb/s. Link demonstrations are expected at distances of about 0.1 to 2 astronomical units.

Abstract

With NASA funding, the Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) Project at JPL is planning a system level technology demonstration of optical communications from deep space. A 22 cm diameter flight laser transceiver (FLT) is being developed for space flight. The FLT will be designed to transmit an average laser power of 4W at 1550 nm and receive a weak 1064 nm laser signal (> 100 femtowatts). Use of the Hale telescope at Palomar Mountain, CA, retrofitted with a photon-counting receiver to detect the downlink from space, is planned. The Optical Communication Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) at Table Mountain, CA will transmit a 1064 nm laser beacon to serve as a pointing reference for the FLT and support low-rate uplink data-rates. The DSOC FLT is part of the baseline payload for the Psyche mission spacecraft recently selected for flight by NASA, providing link demonstration opportunities during the mission cruise phase. Link demonstration opportunities at distances of approximately 0.1 to 2 astronomical units (AU) are expected. The DSOC system is being designed to support downlink data-rates of 0.2 to > 200 Mb/s and uplink data rates of approximately 1.6 kb/s. A status update of DSOC Project activities on flight and ground development will be summarized in this paper.