NASA’s LCOT (low-cost optical terminal) FSOS (free-space optical subsystem): concept, design, build, and test

Thompson, Patrick L.; Caroglanian, Armen; Guzek, Jeffrey; Hall, Stephen A.; Lafon, Robert E.; Olsen, Kristoffer C.; Paulson, Daniel A.; Safavi, Haleh; Sékulic, Predrag; Ta, Oscar; Wilson, Mark

doi:10.1117/12.2653355

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 6 publications

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“…The design review was held in mid-December 2022 and intends to begin building the XOA over the next year. For more information on the LCOT free-space optical system please see the paper on the LCOT free-space optical subsystem in this conference [3].…”

Section: The Transmit Optical Assembly (Xoa)mentioning

confidence: 99%

NASA’s Low-Cost Optical Terminal (LCOT) at Goddard Space Flight Center

Lafon

Bai

Caroglanian

et al. 2023

Free-Space Laser Communications XXXV

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This paper provides the status of ongoing work at NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to build a low-cost flexible ground terminal for optical communication. For laser communication to be cost-effective for future missions, a global network of flexible optical terminals must be put in place. There is a need for a single ground terminal design capable of supporting multiple missions ranging from LEO to lunar distances. NASA's Low-Cost Optical Terminal (LCOT) has a single modular design that can be quickly reconfigured to support different laser communications missions. The LCOT prototype uses a 70cm commercially available telescope designed with optical and quantum communications in mind. This telescope is currently being integrated with a state-of-the-art adaptive optics system, and novel high-power laser amplifier demonstrate its utility as an optical communications receiver by receiving a downlink from the recently launched Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD). LCOT uses commercially available components wherever possible, and where commercial options are not available, the LCOT team works with vendors to create commercial options. This paper discusses the development progress for the blueprint of NASA's future global ground terminal network.

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Section: The Transmit Optical Assembly (Xoa)mentioning

confidence: 99%

NASA’s Low-Cost Optical Terminal (LCOT) at Goddard Space Flight Center

Lafon

Bai

Caroglanian

et al. 2023

Free-Space Laser Communications XXXV

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Versatile spaceborne photonics with chalcogenide phase-change materials

Kim,

Julian,

Williams

et al. 2024

npj Microgravity

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Recent growth in space systems has seen increasing capabilities packed into smaller and lighter Earth observation and deep space mission spacecraft. Phase-change materials (PCMs) are nonvolatile, reconfigurable, fast-switching, and have recently shown a high degree of space radiation tolerance, thereby making them an attractive materials platform for spaceborne photonics applications. They promise robust, lightweight, and energy-efficient reconfigurable optical systems whose functions can be dynamically defined on-demand and on-orbit to deliver enhanced science or mission support in harsh environments on lean power budgets. This comment aims to discuss the recent advances in rapidly growing PCM research and its potential to transition from conventional terrestrial optoelectronics materials platforms to versatile spaceborne photonic materials platforms for current and next-generation space and science missions. Materials International Space Station Experiment-14 (MISSE-14) mission-flown PCMs outside of the International Space Station (ISS) and key results and NASA examples are highlighted to provide strong evidence of the applicability of spaceborne photonics.

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Experimental demonstration of photonic phase correctors based on grating coupler arrays and thermo-optic shifters

Diab,

Cheriton,

Taylor

et al. 2024

Adaptive Optics Systems IX

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In ground-based astronomy, the ability to couple light into single-mode fibers (SMFs) is limited by atmospheric turbulence, which prohibits the use of many astrophotonic instruments. We propose a silicon-on-insulator photonic chip capable of coherently coupling the out-of-phase beamlets from the subapertures of a telescope pupil into an SMF. The photonic integrated circuit (PIC) consists of an array of grating couplers that are used to inject light from free space into single-mode waveguides on the chip. Metallic heaters modulate the refractive index of a coiled section of the waveguides, facilitating the co-phasing of the propagating modes. The phased beamlets can then be coherently combined to efficiently deliver the light to an output SMF. In an adaptive optics (AO) system, the phase corrector acts as a deformable mirror (DM) commanded by a controller that takes phase measurements from a wavefront sensor (WFS). We present experimental results for the PIC tested on an AO testbed and compare the performance to simulations.

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NASA’s LCOT (low-cost optical terminal) FSOS (free-space optical subsystem): concept, design, build, and test

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

NASA’s Low-Cost Optical Terminal (LCOT) at Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s Low-Cost Optical Terminal (LCOT) at Goddard Space Flight Center

Versatile spaceborne photonics with chalcogenide phase-change materials

Experimental demonstration of photonic phase correctors based on grating coupler arrays and thermo-optic shifters

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