A number of space agencies, including NASA, are considering free-space laser communications as a means for returning higher data-rates from future space missions. In this paper, potential deep-space missions are evaluated to show that with optical communication a 10x increase relative to state-of-the art telecommunication systems could be achieved. The maximum deep-space distance where ground transmitted laser beacons could assist acquisition and tracking; and operating points where optical communication performance degrades faster than the inverse square distance are also discussed.
Evaluation of Deep-Space Laser Communication under Different Mission Scenarios
SPIE Photonics West ; 2012 ; San Francisco, CA, United States
2012-01-24
Conference paper
No indication
English