NASA's Next Generation ≥100 Gbps Optical Communications Relay
IEEE Aerospace Conference(2019)
Abstract
NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program is creating an operational optical communications network to complement its current radio frequency (RF) networks. NASA is currently planning for a new optical communications relay node in geostationary (GEO) orbit to be commissioned in 2025, developed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), as evolved from Goddard's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) GEO relay payload that will launch in 2019. The Next Generation optical relay node will serve as an initial element in a larger optical networking constellation that will consist of Government and commercial, and international relays. NASA's nodes will aggregate traffic at data rates of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) from users on the Earth's surface and up through suborbital, LEO, MEO, GEO, cislunar and even out to Earth-Sun Lagrange (1.25 Mkm) distances. Users that require low-latency will be serviced with an onboard complementary Ka-band downlink service. The next generation network will deploy ≥ 100 Gbps space-to-ground links and also optical crosslinks between nodes to allow for user traffic backhaul to minimize ground station location constraints.
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Key words
operational optical communications network,geostationary orbit,optical crosslinks,NASA next generation optical communication relay,NASA's Space Communications and Navigation program,SCaN program,radio frequency networks,RF networks,optical communication relay node,GEO orbit,LCRD GEO relay payload,Goddard Laser Communications Relay Demonstration,next generation optical relay node,optical networking constellation,LEO,MEO,Earth surface,cislunar,Earth-Sun Lagrange distance,onboard complementary Ka-band downlink service,next generation network,space-to-ground links,traffic backhaul,ground station location constraint minimization
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