CubeSat optical crosslink

A pair of 6U cubesats was recently launched into Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) to demonstrate optical crosslink capability for this class of small vehicles. Over the past several years the Aerospace Corporation has routinely performed one-way optical communication downlinks from LEO cubesats using the attitude control system of the space vehicle to point a body-fixed laser transmitter. For this latest mission, each satellite incorporates a 2.5U lasercom system consisting of a 2W 1064-nm transmitter, a wide field of view Si detector array, an Si Avalanche Photodiode (APD) communication detector, an InGaAs quad cell, and a Fast-Steering Mirror (FSM) to enable bi-directional communications and independent steering of the transmitter from the vehicle. Data transmission from 50 - 300 Mbps OOK are planned over an intersatellite range of 500 – 1500 km. Pointing alignment, presently being optimized, and initial communication results will be discussed.