Session
Session 12: Advanced Technologies II
Abstract
Free space optical (FSO) communications have the potential to outperform traditional radio frequency data rates by orders of magnitude using comparable mass, volume, and power. The Nanosatellite Optical Downlink Experiment (NODE) is a 1.2U, 1 kg, 15 W, 1550 nm CubeSat downlink transmitter that uses a master-oscillator power amplifier configuration with a modest 1.3 mrad half-power beamwidth (HPBW) enabled by a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) Fast Steering Mirror (FSM) [1],[4]. NODE is designed to be compatible with the Portable Telescope for Lasercom (PorTeL) ground station [3],[6],[19], which has successfully demonstrated tracking of low Earth orbit objects to better than 5 arcseconds RMS. The flight-like opto-mechanical NODE engineering model has successfully passed vibration testing at qualification levels specified by NASA GEVS [9]. The engineering model has also passed thermal testing in vacuum under worst-case expected environmental loads, and component operational temperatures remained within limits. Tests of the opto-mechanical alignment and control algorithms meet +/- 0.05 mrad (3-sigma) for the space and ground terminals. We present results from the NODE engineering unit and flight unit development, integration, and testing, as well as interface test results with PorTeL.
Integration and Testing of the Nanosatellite Optical Downlink Experiment
Free space optical (FSO) communications have the potential to outperform traditional radio frequency data rates by orders of magnitude using comparable mass, volume, and power. The Nanosatellite Optical Downlink Experiment (NODE) is a 1.2U, 1 kg, 15 W, 1550 nm CubeSat downlink transmitter that uses a master-oscillator power amplifier configuration with a modest 1.3 mrad half-power beamwidth (HPBW) enabled by a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) Fast Steering Mirror (FSM) [1],[4]. NODE is designed to be compatible with the Portable Telescope for Lasercom (PorTeL) ground station [3],[6],[19], which has successfully demonstrated tracking of low Earth orbit objects to better than 5 arcseconds RMS. The flight-like opto-mechanical NODE engineering model has successfully passed vibration testing at qualification levels specified by NASA GEVS [9]. The engineering model has also passed thermal testing in vacuum under worst-case expected environmental loads, and component operational temperatures remained within limits. Tests of the opto-mechanical alignment and control algorithms meet +/- 0.05 mrad (3-sigma) for the space and ground terminals. We present results from the NODE engineering unit and flight unit development, integration, and testing, as well as interface test results with PorTeL.
