Optical link design and validation testing of the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) system

Oaida, Bogdan; Wu, William; Erkmen, Baris I.; Biswas, Abhijit; Kokorowski, M.; Wilkerson, Marcus

doi:10.1117/12.2045351

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…An average ground station allows a 3 minute window for downlink with elevation restrictions to >25° [43], and more than 10 minutes with elevation restrictions to > 10°[ 3 1]. These downlinks are also often duty-cycled or interspersed with commands and acknowledgments.…”

Section: Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subsystem support feasibility for formation flight measuring Bi-directional Reflectance

Nag

Cahoy

Weck

2015

2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference

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Distributed Spacecraft Missions can be used to improve science performance in earth remote sensing by increasing the sampling in one or more of five dimensions: spatial, temporal, angular, spectral and radiometric. This paper identifies a gap in the angular sampling abilities of traditional monolithic spacecraft and proposes to address it using small satellite clusters in formation flight. The angular performance metric chosen to be Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF), which describes the directional and spectral variation of reflectance of a surface element at any time instant. Current monolithic spacecraft sensors estimate it by virtue of their large swath (e.g. MODIS, POLDER), multiple forward and aft sensors (e.g. MISR, ATSR) and autonomous maneuverability (e.g. CHRIS, SPECTRA). However, their planes of measurement and angular coverage are limited. This study evaluates the technical feasibility of using clusters of nanosatellites in formation flight, each with a VNIR (visible and near infra-red) imaging spectrometer, to make multi-spectral reflectance measurements of a ground target, at different zenith and azimuthal angles simultaneously. Feasibility is verified for the following mission critical, inter-dependent modules that need to be customized to fit specific angular and spectral requirements: cluster geometry (and global orbits), guidance, navigation and control systems (GNC), payload, onboard processing and communication. Simulations using an integrated systems engineering and science evaluation tool indicate initial feasibility of all listed subsystems.

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Section: Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory has demonstrated the a 50 MBps downlink from the International Space Station (OPALS) over 148 seconds [43]. The Aerospace Corporation is currently building a 3U CubeSat (OCSD) to demonstrate the same optical downlink rate [45].…”

Section: Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subsystem support feasibility for formation flight measuring Bi-directional Reflectance

Nag

Cahoy

Weck

2015

2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference

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“…The technology behind these links are relatively well-documented (e.g. [11][12][13]). Most proposals [14] employ a downlink to minimize transmission loss [15].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The first step is to address the technical challenges of assembling a photon pair source that satisfies the 6) and the measurement section (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). A 405 nm pump diode (1) supplies the pump beam aligned by a pair of prisms (2).…”

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confidence: 99%

Generation and Analysis of Correlated Pairs of Photons aboard a Nanosatellite

et al. 2016

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Satellites carrying sources of entangled photons could establish a global quantum network, enabling private encryption keys between any two points on Earth. Despite numerous proposals, demonstration of space-based quantum systems has been limited due to the cost of traditional satellites. We are using very small spacecraft to accelerate progress. We report the in-orbit operation of a photon pair source aboard a 1.65 kg nanosatellite and demonstrate pair generation and polarization correlation under space conditions. The in-orbit photon correlations exhibit a contrast of 97 ± 2%, matching ground-based tests. This pathfinding mission overcomes the challenge of demonstrating in-orbit performance for the components of future entangled photon experiments. Ongoing operation establishes the in-orbit lifetime of these critical components. More generally, this demonstrates the ability for nanosatellites to enable faster progress in space-based research.Progress in quantum computers and their threat to public key cryptography is driving new forms of encryption [1]. One promising alternative is quantum key distribution (QKD) which provides provable security underpinned by quantum physics [2]. In particular, QKD can be achieved using pairs of photons that possess fundamental correlations known as quantum entanglement [3]. Practically, entanglement-based QKD enables a reduction in the number of trusted components [4]. A global quantum network for distributing entangled photon pairs will enable strong encryption keys to be shared between any two points on Earth.Entanglement-based QKD is a mature technology [5][6][7] compared with other entanglement-assisted applications. However, it shares a common range limit with more conventional prepare-send-measure QKD schemes [8]. Metropolitan scale QKD networks are possible using optical fiber or free-space links, but fiber losses and ground-level atmospheric turbulence preclude extending these networks to a global scale. Quantum repeater technology that can overcome these losses is still in the starting stages of being researched [9].Scalable global entanglement distribution can be achieved using a constellation of satellites equipped with spaceto-ground optical links [10]. The technology behind these links are relatively well-documented (e.g. [11][12][13]). Most proposals [14] employ a downlink to minimize transmission loss [15]. A source of photon pairs is placed on board a satellite in Earth orbit that will then either act as a trusted relay between two ground nodes, or beam one photon to one ground station and its pair photon to a different ground station. An additional advantage of space-based entanglement systems is that they allow fundamental tests of the possible overlap between quantum and relativistic regimes for which operation in space is necessary [16].Despite many preliminary studies on space quantum systems [11,12,15,[17][18][19][20][21] there has been limited published work demonstrating relevant technology in space [12,21] due to the prohibitive cost of traditional sp...

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“…As a precursor to a fully space qualified operational system, a low cost laser transmitter was developed as part of a technology demonstration experiment (Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science or OPALS) to fly as an external payload on the International Space Station (ISS) [2]. Technology demonstration missions provide a low cost approach to the development and deployment of new technologies for future mission opportunities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualification testing of fiber-based laser transmitters and on-orbit validation of a commercial laser system

Wright

Wilkerson

Tang³

2017

International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2014

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Qualification testing of fiber based laser transmitters is required for NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications program to mature the technology for space applications. In the absence of fully space qualified systems, commercial systems have been investigated in order to demonstrate the robustness of the technology. To this end, a 2.5 W fiber based laser source was developed as the transmitter for an optical communications experiment flown aboard the ISS as a part of a technology demonstration mission. The low cost system leveraged Mil Standard design principles and Telcordia certified components to the extent possible and was operated in a pressure vessel with active cooling.The laser was capable of high rate modulation but was limited by the mission requirements to 50 Mbps for downlinking stored video from the OPALS payload, externally mounted on the ISS. Environmental testing and space qualification of this unit will be discussed along with plans for a fully space qualified laser transmitter.

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Optical link design and validation testing of the Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS) system

Cited by 23 publications

References 4 publications

Subsystem support feasibility for formation flight measuring Bi-directional Reflectance

Subsystem support feasibility for formation flight measuring Bi-directional Reflectance

Generation and Analysis of Correlated Pairs of Photons aboard a Nanosatellite

Qualification testing of fiber-based laser transmitters and on-orbit validation of a commercial laser system

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