Key Points:
- Technical Demonstration: The demonstration transmitted a 15-second test video through an advanced instrument, the flying laser transceiver. The video signal was sent at a maximum bit rate of 267 megabits per second and took 101 seconds to reach Earth.
- Data transfer rate: This laser communication transmits data from deep space at a rate 10 to 100 times faster than the RF systems currently used in deep space missions. The project demonstrated downlink bitrates of 62.5 Mbps, 100 Mbps, and 267 Mbps, which is comparable to broadband Internet download speeds.
- Supporting future missions: This technology demonstration will power the sending of complex scientific information, high-definition images and videos, which is crucial for humanity’s next giant leap – sending humans to Mars.
- Video content: The uploaded video Ultra HD shows an orange tabby cat named Taters chasing a laser pointer, and the video also includes several features of the technical demonstration, such as Psyche’s orbital path, Palomar’s telescope dome, and technical information about the laser and its data bitrate.
The demonstration transmitted a 15-second test video through a cutting-edge instrument called a flying laser transceiver. The video signal took 101 seconds to reach Earth and was sent at the system’s maximum bitrate of 267 megabits per second (Mbps).
The instrument is capable of sending and receiving near-infrared signals to emit encoded near-infrared lasers to the Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory at the California Institute of Technology in San Diego County, California, where it is downloaded. Each frame of the looping video is then sent “in real time” to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, where the video is played in real time.
Despite being transmitted from millions of miles away, it is capable of sending video faster than most broadband internet connections.
The project demonstrated downlink bitrates of 62.5 Mbps, 100 Mbps, and 267 Mbps, which is comparable to broadband Internet download speeds.
Details:https://go.nasa.gov/47XDYom
For more information on laser communication demonstrations, please visit: https://jpl.nasa.gov/missions/dsoc