Beam divergence shaping mechanism in laser intersatellite crosslink system

Abstract

Laser intersatellite crosslink is a promising choice for intersatellite communications due to the high data rate that can be achieved with the advantages of light weight, smaller size and lower power consumption. The establishment of the line of sight (LOS) between the satellites can be a complex task due to the narrow laser beam to be used over long distances between satellite platforms. We examine the effects of varying short range separation distances between two low earth orbit (LEO) satellites in a satellite formation flying cluster with respect to the link budget and beam divergence. Then, we propose a beam divergence shaping mechanism to tackle the varying distance problem.