SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

1. Introduction:
The application of laser technology to communications, particularly space
communications, was envisioned in the very early days of laser development. For example,
one of the earliest laser communications patents, filed in 1962, described a method for secure
communications between a satellite and a submarine. In the 40 years since, government
agencies, companies, universities, and individuals in many countries have made tremendous
technical progress. Today, the demanding requirements of both government and commercial
applications can be met; requirements that far exceed those envisioned by even the most
aggressive planners in theearly 1960s.
This paper reviews the developments from the beginning to the Teledesic optical
intersatellite link terminal design. Our focus on developments in the United States
complements other contributions in this special edition that address programs conducted in
other parts of the world. As we retrace the path of laser communications development, we
cannot give the proper credit due to all contributors, teams and individuals. Such an effort
would occupy a much larger space. We, therefore, do not cite references and trace our
presentation only to the organizations that initiated and funded the various programs. We do
not claim that our review includes all the main activities and programs in the U.S., but we
believe it does present a history of the development of this exciting technology.
Communication technology has experienced a continual development to higher and
higher carrier frequencies, starting from a few hundred kilohertz at Marconi's time to several
hundred terahertz since we employ lasers in fiber systems. The main driving force was that
the usable bandwidth - and hence transmission capacity - increases proportional to the carrier
frequency. Another asset comes into play in free-space point-to-point links. The minimum
divergence obtainable with a freely propagating beam of electromagnetic waves scales
proportional to the wavelength. The jump from microwaves to light waves therefore means a
reduction in beamwidth by orders of magnitude, even if we use transmit antennas of much
smaller diameter. The reduced beamwidth does not only imply increased intensity at the
receiver site but also reduced cross talk between closely operating links and less chance for
eavesdropping.
Space communication, as employed in satellite-tosatellite links, is traditionally
performed using microwaves. For more than twenty five years, however, laser systems are
being investigated as alternatives. 1-3) One hopes that mass, power consumption, and size of
1
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

an optical transceiver module will be smaller than that of a microwave transceiver. Also, fuel
consumption for satellite attitude control when quickly re-directing antennas should be less
for optical antennas. On the other hand, a new set of problems had to be addressed in
connection with the extreme requirements for pointing, acquiring, and tracking the narrowwidth laser beams.
In this tutorial we will first discuss the basics of an optical free space link and then
point out the differences to terrestrial fiber systems and to microwave links in presents the
requirements for and the available technologies to implement transmitters, receivers, optical
antennas, as well as the PAT system (PAT...pointing, acquisition, and tracking). Next we
sketch application scenarios, and we conclude with both a glimpse onto past and future
system technologies.

2
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

2. The beginning:
In the 1960s, lasercom developments in the U.S. were driven by NASAs need for
reliable, high volume space communications links. The earliest attempt at space-to ground
laser communications, and the first attempt at automated tracking of a ground beacon, was
made during the Gemini 7 mission in 1965. Astronaut James Lovell was to look out one of
the space capsule windows and observe an un-modulated Argon Ion laser beacon sent from a
NASA ground tracking station on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. He had a hand-held
laser communicator equipped with a viewfinder and a microphone. The transmitter was a
single hetero junction diode laser operating at 900 nanometers that was directly modulated by
the speech signal. By pointing the laser communicator at the beacon, he was to attempt to
send messages to the NASA scientists on the ground. The experiment was unsuccessful
because the Argon Ion ground beacon laser failed repeatedly. The laser was mounted on a
tracking gimbals. When the gimbals was tilted toward the space craft, the water cooling
system malfunctioned leading to an overheating of the laser tube.
In 196869, a group of NASA scientists used an optical receiver with a constant wide
field of view onboard the GEOS B satellite for uplink experiments. A high power CW Argon
Ion laser beam was expanded into a 40-deg cone and pointed at the satellite. By chopping the
beam at the ground site using the Morse alphabet, they sent messages to the satellite. These
were then relayed back to the ground on the telemetry link.

3
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

3. The challenge:
The early efforts described above confirmed the potential of laser communications for
space applications. They also made it clear that substantial developments were needed in both
the pointing, acquisition and tracking (PAT) and the laser transmitter technologies. It had
become clear that the characteristics of the laser transmitter drive the selection and design of
all of the other components needed to transport data on an optical carrier over very large
distances. The laser output power largely determines the size of the telescope and that, in
turn, has a major influence on the PAT subsystem. The laser wavelength drives the selection
of the modulator and detector components, while the laser stability/phase noise characteristics
influence the modulation and detection method.
In the following three decades, numerous laser communications technologies were
investigated. The main challenge was to find a set of components that combined high power,
efficiency, and spatial and temporal coherence on the transmitter side with high-speed
modulation and sensitive detection capabilities. Initially only gas lasers were available, but
soon solid state and semiconductor lasers matured and displaced the gas lasers as the prime
candidates for space communication. As programs demanded ever-higher bandwidths, more
and more sophisticated modulation and receiver techniques were employed ultimately leading
to homodyne detection receivers with close to theoretical sensitivity.
Similarly, major advances were realized in PAT technology including lightweight,
structurally and thermally stable telescopes; fast steering mirrors and other line-of sight
control mechanisms; precision position sensors; inertial measurement devices; nested-loop
and feed-forward LOS control electronics; vibration isolation techniques; and lightweight athermal optical bench designs.
Numerous technology demonstration programs were initiated and mostly cancelled
before the technology could be demonstrated in actual flight operations. These cancellations
occurred for a number of reasons including funding limitations, difficulties associated with
meeting performance requirements and schedules, difficulty with or insufficient attention to
packaging and system integration issues, and failures during space qualification.

4
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

4. Government programs:
This section reviews significant, selected U.S. government programs. It is organized
by laser type, starting with gas laser programs, mostly conducted at NASA, moving on to
solid state laser programs, initially driven by the Air Force, and finally semiconductor laser
programs. These later programs paralleled and benefited significantly from commercial
component developments for long-range terrestrial fiber optic systems.
4.1 Gas laser programs:
In the early 1970s, NASA initiated a technology development program for laser
pointing and tracking technology. Using CW high power (up to 100Watt) Argon Ion lasers
and ground-based optical telescopes, a number of beacon experiments were conducted with
satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). In 1973, a coude telescope with a precision tracking
capability was used to send a beacon to the Spacelab. Onboard, a variety of sensor/camera
systems were employed to study various aspects of beacon reception and pointing accuracy.
The Spacelab experiments led to the development of the Mobile Optical Mount System. Fig.
1 shows this trailer-mounted, 75-cm diameter tracking telescope. It had an integrated Qswitched, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser beacon and was used in conjunction with retro
reflectors mounted on several satellites to test and refine acquisition and tracking
technologies. In its closed-loop tracking mode, it achieved an rms noise equivalent angle of
1.4 arc seconds, demonstrating that the extreme pointing and tracking requirements for space
lasercom could be met.
In the late 1960s, following the development of the rare gas lasers, researchers
discovered a number of other types of gas lasers including molecular lasers. Of these, the
performance characteristics of carbon dioxide, (CO2) lasers closely matched the needs of
laser communications: stable single-mode CW operation, high power, good efficiency, and
two wavelength bands for excellent forward and return link isolation. The high output power
combined with the CO2 lasers long wavelengthin the mid-infrared regionsubstantially
decreased the mechanical tolerance requirements of the PAT subsystem. Furthermore, the
excellent degree of coherence of the laser combined with the availability of linear electrooptic modulator materials and photo detectors provided the opportunity for use of sensitive
heterodyne and even homodyne detection receivers.
Recognizing these benefits in the early 1970s, NASA started a development program
for space laser communications based on a CO2 laser transmitter. This program led to key
5
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

advances in the understanding of the system level aspects of high-data-rate space laser
communications. Among the significant technology advances made were high-speed phase
modulation and heterodyne detection techniques, closed-loop tracking of a laser local
oscillator in the presence of Doppler shifts, and efficient beam combining and mode matching
at the photo detector. NASAs plan was to fly a CO2 laser terminal on the ATS-6 satellite and
demonstrate 1Mbps communications to a ground station. For a second, later experiment, an
inter-satellite link experiment between two ATS satellites was planned. Unfortunately,
difficulties with space qualification of the laser tube delayed the completion of the flight
hardware beyond the technology cut-off date for the launch and the program was terminated.
Beginning in the early 1980s, DARPA funded a series of technology efforts to demonstrate
space borne laser communications to submerged submarines.

Fig. 1. NASAs Mobile Optical Mount System for high precision ground to space
laser beacon pointing and tracking.
Under the SLC-Satellite program, a lasercom terminal operating in the blue-green
range was developed. Two different lasers were investigated. The initially preferred
wavelength was in the blue-green portion of the spectrum provided by a XenonChloride
6
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

laser Raman shifted with a Lead vapor cell. The laser was tuned to the ultra-sharp pass band
of a Cesium vapor atomic resonance filter used at the receiver side to block all out-of-band
spectral components. For a competing approach, a novel Nd:YAG laser design operating in
the green portion of the spectrum was also developed. This laser design used a slab instead of
the customary rod configuration and is discussed later in this article.
The two laser transmitters were tested in separate trials onboard a P3 aircraft that flew
in a circular pattern above the submarine at an altitude of about 10 km. The airborne terminal
tracked a beacon transmitted from the submarine. The green wavelength approach was
demonstrated during a set of sea trials in the North Atlantic. These trials confirmed that sea
water penetration to the required depth could be achieved. Although successful, the program
was not continued beyond the trials as operational interests had shifted.
4.2 Solid state laser programs:
In the late 1970s, the U.S. Air Force began funding laser communications work with
system-level studies that compared the different laser technologies available in a variety of
communications scenarios. These studies led to the se lection of the Nd:YAG solid state laser
as the prime transmitter candidate for a number of communications needs and led to the first
fully integrated laser terminal development and demonstration. The outstanding features of
the Nd:YAG laser that led to this selection were:
Delivered high output power in continuous wave and pulsed (Q-switched) modes
Offered two wavelengths infrared and frequency doubled green
Provided spectral pure and spatial single mode output
Availability of external electro-optic modulators with high bandwidth at both wavelengths
Availability of photo detectors at both wavelengths
The main disadvantage of the laser was its very low efficiency, particularly in the early stages
of flash lamp pumping. However, this changed dramatically with the maturing of
semiconductor laser technology in the mid1980s that ultimately led to the predominance of the Nd:YAG laser technology.
The first major Air Force program was aimed at building a technology demonstrator, a
communications terminal breadboard capable of transmitting a 1 Gbps data rate. The
transmitter was a flash lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser operating in the frequency-doubled
mode. A novel modulation technique, pulse interval modulation, was applied using electrooptic modulators. Multiplexing a number of TV channels available in the St. Louis, Missouri
area and transmitting the digitized aggregate data over the laser link successfully
7
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

demonstrated this capability. This success led to the funding for the Airborne Flight Test
System (AFTS) program.
The objective of the AFTS program was to develop a fully integrated lasercom
terminal for space communications and to demonstrate its operation in an air-to-ground, 1Gbps data transfer from a KC-135 aircraft flying at an altitude of 10 km to a ground counter
terminal. During this program, the flash-lamp pumped, Q-switched, cavity dumped Nd:YAG
laser was integrated with a tracking telescope that interfaced with a two-axis beam steering
mechanism. Initial problems with the modulator crystal during the high power acquisition
mode were overcome by doping the modulator crystal. The first flight demonstration was
successfully performed at White Sands, New Mexico in 1980.
Besides demonstrating the feasibility of the Nd:YAG technology, the AFTS program
demonstrated that a reliable link could be established between a dynamic platform (aircraft)
and a tracking ground station. Fig. 2 shows a technician operating the terminal in the aircraft.
The equipment was not packaged for compactness, with rackmounted electronics and a
flying optical bench making up the hardware. Based on the success of this demonstration
program the Air Force decided to proceed with a production lasercom terminal development
(Laser Communications Subsystem [LCS]) for inter-satellite communications for the Defense
Support Program (DSP). The objective of the DSP program was to provide communications
between the geostationary DSP surveillance satellites at about 1Mbps over a distance of
85.000 km.

Fig. 2. Airborne Flight Test console for 1 Gbps Nd:YAG transceiver demonstration.

8
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

Fig. 3. Schematic of frequency doubled diode pumped Nd:YAG slab laser transmitter.

One major objective of the program was the development of a significantly more
efficient Nd:YAG laser by replacing the flash lamp pump with a bank of high power
semiconductor lasers. This led to the design of the slab laser illustrated in Fig. 3. The most
difficult challenge was meeting the high output power and lifetime requirements for the
AlGaAs pump lasers operating in the absorption band of the Nd:YAG material. A series of
improvements in the semiconductor fabrication process were needed before the required
output power could be achieved. The lifetime objectives could only be met by operating the
entire bank of pump lasers at 20 C. This slab laser design eventually became the first fully
space qualified laser transmitter. Another significant accomplishment of this program was the
packaging of the laser transceiver, the diffraction limited optics, and the PAT functionality
into an integrated, lightweight terminal using a composite material structure. shows the
completed, space-qualified terminal. Unfortunately, none of the terminals were ever
launched, even though one of them was integrated with the spin-stabilized DSP 17 satellite in
1991. After years of development work and the delivery of two flight-qualified terminals, the
program was cancelled in 1993 as the requirements of the DSP program had changed.

9
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

Fig. 4. Space qualified LCS ND:YAG lasercom terminal mounted in test bed
structure.
4.3 Semiconductor lasers:
The late 1970s saw the emergence of continuous semiconductor lasers operating in
the near infrared. Compared to other laser types, these devices provided an optical
communications breakthrough because of their small size, efficiency, potential low cost, and
ability to be directly modulated at high data rates. For space laser communications, their
output power was initially too small and their non- Gaussian beam characteristics required
development ofnovel optical components.
However, in the early to mid- 1980s, some of the early problems, such as facet
damage, spectral purity, and lifetime limitations, were overcome as their solution was also of
interest to the commercial terrestrial fiber communications industry. Single mode
semiconductor lasers delivering tens of mWand operating over a fairly wide band became
available. These made it possible to generate the high output power levels needed for space
communications through both coherent and incoherent power combining methods.
The semiconductor fabrication process improvements mentioned in the previous
section led to major improvements in multi-mode semiconductor laser sources. Devices with
output power levels at the Watt level became available and led to development of optically
pumped transmitters and amplifiers

10
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

The 1970s also saw significant advances in semiconductor photo detectors. These
quickly replaced the photomultiplier tubes because of their size, cost, and robustness,
although their sensitivity in the visible spectral region did not match up to that of the tubes.
Both PIN diodes and avalanche photodiodes (APDs) working in the visible and infrared with
good quantum efficiencies became available for data rates in the 100s of Mbps. Although the
internal gain of APDs was a major advantage, their relatively low bandwidth, high excess
noise levels, and sensitivity to ionizing radiation limited their use in space laser
communications. One of the first programs employing semiconductor lasers was the Laser
Intersatellite Transmission Experiment (LITE) conducted byMIT Lincoln Laboratory in
themid-1980s.
It was to provide data rates up to 220Mbps over a 40 000 km range. LITE used a low
power (30mW) Laser, FSK modulation, and heterodyne detection. Although never launched,
several integrated terminals with full communication, acquisition, and tracking capability
were built and rigorously tested for space operation. After an interruption of several years,
NASA returned to communications technology development in 1981. Their renewed interest
in laser communications was spurred by the need for higher transfer rates between the
increasingly productive LEO Earth sensing satellites and the geostationary Tracking and Data
Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).
The use of TDRSS was more cost effective than providing the LEO satellites with
direct wideband communications links to a large number of ground stations. The constellation
baseline was for an East satellite service, a West satellite service, and a backside satellite
service separated by approximately 120 deg. via the GEO GEO laser links, A second
constellation, the tracking and data acquisition satellite (TDAS) included laser links between
GEO GEO satellites 160 degrees (84 000 km) apart. The in-view satellites would act as
relays for the out-of view satellites. Similarly, the increasing data rates of the LEO sensors
led to investigations for replacing the LEO GEO microwave links with laser links for the
next generation of these satellites. Data rates were asymmetric, with initially 650 Mbps and
later 2 Gbps for the GEO GEO forward links, and 110Mbps for the GEO GEO return
links. The LEO GEO links required baseband digital return rates of up to 1 Gbps on the
uplink, and 50Mbps on the downlink for signaling, control, and commands. Fig. 7 depicts
several major space lasercom applications supported by this system configuration, including
the three TDRSS satellites with their respective links.
NASA conducted a number of system-level studies for these intersatellite terminal
designs comparing different laser technologies and decided in favor of semiconductor
11
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

transmitter technology (AlGaAs and InGaAs) combined with direct detection receivers. They
investigated incoherent power combining using wavelength division multiplexing, coherent
power combining using a master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) concept, and performed
extensive laser life tests. The MOPA concept separates the signal generation/modulation
components from the high power generation component, and was an important milestone in
transmitter design. It enabled optimization of the design of each component without
compromising the other. This led to significant increases in both transmit power levels and
higher data rates. During the same time frame, other technologies also made major strides.
One of these was electronic data storage with higher capacity and low power consumption.
This capability allowed LEO platforms to collect and store sensor data without a continuous
data link to the TDRSS network and led to a temporary setback in the interest for high rate
LEO GEO laser links. However, work at NASA continued and led in the late 1980s to a
new laser communications program. Jointly funded by NASA and the Air Force, this program
had the objective to demonstrate laser communications from a GEO synchronous platform to
the ground by developing a terminal for the Advance Communications Technology Satellite
(ACTS).

Fig. 5. GEO TDRSS configuration with intended intersatellite communications links.

The ACTS program itself was intended as a test bed for high-risk, new space
communications technology, particularly millimeter wave transceiver technology, on-board
baseband processing, and switching. This very successful program led the way to a new
12
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

generation of communication satellites. The ACTS laser communications experiments were

to include both direct detection and heterodyne detection trials with ground-based and
airborne counter terminals. Based on its experience with the LITE program, MIT Lincoln
Laboratory developed the PAT, the optical bench, and the heterodyne transceiver, while
NASA undertook the development of the direct detection transceiver, which would be
integrated onto the optical bench.

Fig. 6. High power diode laser transmitter breadboard using incoherent power
combining.
Unfortunately, work on the terminal took more time than planned and ACTS was
launched in September 1993 without the laser com terminal. Development of the terminal
continued for some time at reduced funding levels. It led to an advanced terminal design
based on fiber interconnects between optical components with polarization maintaining
single-mode fibers. The performance of the completed terminal, including the acquisition and
tracking capability, was fully tested in a specially developed ground-based test bed. Link
acquisition and handover to tracking was tested repeatedly resulting in a probability of
success of 99.9% at power levels below the expected on-orbit value.
In 1985, the U.S. Air Force funded the Boost Surveillance and Tracking Satellite
(BSTS) program. Having data links between the satellites, it was planned to one day replace
the DSP constellation. Fig. 7 illustrates the proposed lasercom platform with its three
terminals and its position on the satellite. Despite the success of the DSP program with the
slab Nd:YAG laser, the decision was made to use semiconductor laser technology for the
BSTS program. The intent was to develop a transmitter based on coherent power combining
with a large array of laser diodes. Soon, however, it became apparent that the semiconductor
fabrication process state-of-the-art was not ready to provide the high level of uniformity
13
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

across the diode array needed to achieve the desired beam quality. The program was
cancelled in the early 1990s.
During the late 1980s and the 1990s, the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization and
the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command funded a program to design, build and
fly a satellite laser communications terminal. Using directly modulated semiconductor lasers
and avalanche photodiode detectors communications up to gigabit per second speeds were to
be demonstrated. The acquisition and tracking subsystem used separate diode beacon lasers, a
CCD camera, and a narrow band Cesium atomic line filter for background light rejection.
This program led to the launch of a satellite terminal as part of the Space Technology
Research Vehicle-2 experiment which flew on TSX-5 in 2000. The satellite terminal
including the electronics weighed 31.5 pounds, and is shown mounted on the front of STRV-2
in Fig. 7. It was capable of full duplex communications at 1.2 Gbps (2600Mbps channels on
right and left circular polarizations) between satellites in a LEO constellation. The STRV-2
experiment also called for a satellite-to-ground lasercom link at distances up to 2000 km. In
cooperation with JPL a ground terminal was installed at the Table Mountain Facility and
satellite-to-ground lasercom experiments were conducted. As it turned out, the host satellites
ephemeris data was not sufficiently accurate to support open-loop pointing of the ground
terminal beacon. A communications link could thus not be established before priorities
changed and the program was terminated.

5. Deep space laser communications:

A discussion of laser communication developments for planetary and deep space
missions is included here as a separate section because this application presents developers
with unique challenges in two critical technologies PAT and maximally efficient transport of
data. In the U.S., the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology took
the lead in the 1980s in this area, focusing on technology that could meet the specific
demands of NASAs missions. The JPL deep space optical communications program
continues to this day focusing on system-level improvements and field demonstrations with
ground-based transceiver stations.

14
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

One of the early contributions of this program was the development of high-order Mary pulse position modulation (PPM). This modulation format is especially well suited for
deep space missions as it takes advantage of the high peak-power, low average power
operation of lasers in the Q-switched mode. Through framing of the data stream into a large
number of time slots and precise positioning of a laser pulse in one of these time slots in each
frame, record transmission efficiencies can be achieved. With a 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser and
direct detection, JPL demonstrated a transmission efficiency of 0.4 photons per bit, that is,
roughly two orders of magnitude higher than other techniques including homodyne detection.
Such a laser link can support useful data rates (approximately kbps to Mbps) between a
planetary platform and an Earth terminal using telescope apertures of 10 to 30-cm on the
satellite and 10-m on the ground.
On the uplink, atmospheric scintillation causes deep signal fades. These lead to long
burst errors that are difficult to overcome with interleaving and coding techniques and limit
useful data rates. Adaptive optical techniques and multi-beam transmission approaches need
to be employed to mitigate such signal fades. The extremely large distance combined with the
atmosphere poses a major challenge to the PAT technology. Fig. 7 shows that closed-loop
acquisition and tracking techniques cannot be employed as space craft venture towards the
outer planets and into deep space. For missions in the outer planetary regions, closed-loop
laser beacon tracking becomes ineffective due to the long propagation delay. The road map to
deep space laser communication implementation thus relies on experience gained from
technology demonstrations with Earth-orbiting satellites. Such demonstrations must be
conducted to prove the reliability of the technology under representative operational
conditions.
During the Ground-to-Orbit Lasercom Demonstration (GOLD), JPL conducted the
first such demonstration using JPLs Table Mountain Observatory (TMO) in California and
the ETS-VI satellite developed and built in Japan. This 1.064Mbps two-way optical
communications experiment was conducted over a period of seven months in 1996. It
required simultaneous and cooperative operation by team members in Tokyo and California.
A key objective was to measure the atmospheric attenuation and to validate the
performance of the optical link. The telemetry downlink provided in-orbit performance data
for the laser communications equipment. Bit error rates of 104 and 105 were measured
using pseudorandom code generators on the downlink and uplink, respectively. The measured
signal power levels, when dynamically calibrated for atmospheric attenuation, agreed with
theoretical predictions.
15
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

Fig. 7. Lasercom tracking techniques for deep space missions

A second successful deep-space pointing experiment was performed during the
second Earth flyby of the Galileo spacecraft, as part of the Galileo satellite Venus Earth
Earth Gravity Assist (VEEGA) trajectory. This afforded a unique opportunity to perform a
deep space optical uplink experiment as the space craft receded from Earth on its way to
Jupiter. Eight days after Earth flyby, the Galileo Optical Experiment (GOPEX) was
conducted from December 9 through December 16, 1992. Laser beams were transmitted to
the satellite from transmitter sites at TMO and at the Starfire Optical Range in New Mexico.
At 6 million kilometers range (15 times the EarthMoon distance), the laser beam sent from
TMO was recorded by one of Galileos cameras as shown in . Since then, JPL has developed
both an integrated deep space optical communications demonstrator, shown in Fig. 8, as well
as NASAs first optical communications ground station, the Optical Telecommunications
Telescope Laboratory located at TMO.

16
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

Fig. 8. Engineering model: Teledesic lasercom head.

All major components were bread boarded and tested, either individually or in
subassemblies. A radiation hardening program for all components was underway. Back-up
solutions were in place for the most critical components. To meet the needs of high volume
production (close to 900 units), the design consisted of highly compact subunits and modules
with tight interface specifications. The main design features were:
Single, fine tunable optical carrier at 1064 nm wavelength
Separation of oscillator, modulator, and power amplifier functions
Ultra-sensitive data transport using phase shift keying and homodyne detection
High transmit/receive isolation by geometrical design, polarization, and carrier wavelength
High-speed digital data processing using custom designed low-power application-specific
integrated circuits (ASICs)
Burst error mitigation by coding and scrambling
Separate control channel for closed-loop control of transmit power control and point-ahead
angle
Separate high power beacon transmitter
High speed tracking loop using two-axis fine pointing mirror

7. System Layout:

17
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

A scenario typical for the transmission system in question asks for point-to-point data
transfer between
Two spacecraft (see Fig. 1). The distances to be bridged may extend anywhere from a few
hundred kilometers to
70 000 km (e.g. in near-earth applications) up to millions of kilometers in case of signals
transmitted by a space probe.4) Today the data rates in mind range from several hundred
kbit/s to some 10 Gbit/s. Terminals for optical communication in space are mostly designed
for bi-directional links, at least concerning the optical tracking function. They comprise both
a transmitter and a receiver that generally share the optical antenna.
Another peculiarity is the necessity of beam steering (or pointing) capability with submicroradian angular resolution and possibly with an angular coverage exceeding a
hemisphere. These requirements lead to a transceiver block diagram as shown in Fig. 2. The
light source S is a laser, preferably operating in a single transverse mode in order to achieve
the highest possible antenna gain. If the laser operates continuously or in a pulsed mode
producing a periodic pulse train, an external modulator (M) is utilized to impress the data
signal onto the beam. Alternatively, internal modulation may be employed with some lasers.
The modulated beam passes an optical duplexer (DUP) and a fine pointing assembly (FPA)
before it enters a telescope acting as

Fig. 9 A scenario of laser communication links inspace.

18
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

transmit antenna (ANT). The telescope increases the beam diameter and thus reduces the
beam divergence. A coarse pointing assembly (CPA) provides for steering the antenna. The
received radiation also passes the antenna and the fine pointing assembly, and is then directed
to the receive part of the terminal with the aid of the
duplexer. A beam splitter (BS) directs one part of the received beam to the data detector (DD)
for demodulation and further signal processing in the data electronics unit (DE). Another part
of the received power is used for controlling the fine and coarse pointing mechanisms in such
a way that the acquisition and tracking detector (ATD) is always hit centrally. A point-ahead
assembly (PAA) has to be inserted in either the transmit path or the receive path to allow
electronic control of the internal angular alignment between transmission and reception (see
Sect. 3.2).

Fig. 10

Block diagram of optical transceiver for space-to-space links (S-laser source,

19
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

12. ADVANTAGES:

High power , efficiency , spatial & temporal coherence on the transition side & high

speed modulation & sensitive detection capabilities.

higher bandwidths, more and more sophisticated modulation and receiver techniques

were employed
lightweight, structurally and thermally stable telescopes; fast steering mirrors and
other line-of sight control mechanisms; precision position sensors; inertial
measurement devices; nested-loop and feed-forward LOS control lectroniques;
vibration isolation techniques; and lightweight a-thermal optical bench designs.

13. APPLICATIONS:

Mainly used in GEMINI 7 mission in 1965 with laser link

Used in aircraft , air force , broadcasting etc
Laser comm describes secure communications between a satellite and a submarine.
This are used for high volume space comm links

14. Conclusions:
20
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

We hope with this review that we succeeded in correctly retracing the U.S. laser
communications developments of the last 40 years. Unfortunately, the common characteristic
of most of the programs to date in the US was incompleteness and cancellation before flight
demonstration. However, space lasercom has clearly matured to the point where performance,
schedule and cost risk have become comparable to other accepted space technologies. This
became evident during the Teledesic program and has since been validated by the recent
success of a European program. Nevertheless, after the termination of the Teledesic program,
the technologist are is still waiting for a major encouragement by the space application
community, particularly on the commercial side.
As a common Austrian saying goes: Erstens kommt es anders, zweitens als man
denkt (things dont happen as expected). For Walter Leeb and many of us, who have spent a
good part of our professional careers developing space laser communications technology, it is
a consoling thought that lasercom has become the dominant technology, at least for medium
and long distance terrestrial communications. Our globe is knit with a dense network of
optical fibers that provide the backbone for all our telephone and Internet traffic. Today,
communications carriers are also deploying fiber in metropolitan area networks (metro rings)
and even as a last mile medium for broadband access to homes.

Acknowledgment
21
DEPT. OF ECE

SVS GROUP OF INSTITUTIONS

The author appreciates stimulating discussions with K.

Kudielka and P. Winzer

References
1)

M. Katzmann (ed.): Laser Satellite Communications (Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood

Cliffs, 1987).
2) H. P. Lutz: ESA Bulletin 91 (1997) 25.
3) D. L. Begley, R. A. Kobylinski, M. Ross: Intl. J. Satellite Communications 6 (1988) 91.
4)

C. Chen, J. W. Alexander, H. Hemmati, S. Monacos, T. Yan, S. Lee, J. R. Lesh, S.

Zingales:
Proc. Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies XI, 1999 (SPIE Vol. 3615) p.142.
5)

J. H. McElroy, N. McAvoy, E. H. Johnson, J. J. Degnan, F. E. Goodwin. D. M.

Henderson, T. A.

Nussmeier, L. S. Stokes, B. J. Peyton, T. Flattau: Proc. IEEE 65 (1977)

221.
6)

G. Folcke, J. M. Defrancq, D. Geffroy: Proc.

Free-Space Laser Communication

Technologies X, 1998 (SPIE Vol. 3266) p.14.

7) W. A. Atia, R. S. Bondurant: Proc. LEOS 12th Annual Meeting, San Francisco,1999, p.226.
8) V. W. S. Chan: J. Lightwave Techn. LT-5 (1987) 633.
9) M. M. Rasztovits, M. A. Schreiblehner, A. L. Scholtz, W. R. Leeb, P. Polacek: Proc. FreeSpace Laser Communication Technologies VII, 1995 (SPIE Vol. 2381) p.302.
10) B. J. Klein and J. J. Degnan: Applied Optics 13 (1974) 2134.
11) M. Ross, P. Freedman, J. Abernathy, G. Matassov, J. Wolf, J. D. Barry: Proc. IEEE 66
(1978) 319.
12) K. Pribil, Ch. Serbe, B. Wandernoth, Ch. Rapp:
Proc. Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies VII, 1995 (SPIE Vol. 2381) p.83.
13) T. Tolker-Nielsen, B. Demelenne, E. Desplats: Proc. Free-Space Laser Communication
Technologies XI, 1999 (SPIE Vol. 3615) p.31.

22
DEPT. OF ECE