Session
Session VIII: Next on the Pad 2
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The Laser Crosslink Experiment (LaCE) is an ongoing optical communication campaign with ground, stratospheric, and orbital elements. The principal LaCE experiment is two 6U CubeSats, LaCE 1 and LaCE 2, which were launched to a shared sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on March 4, 2024. LaCE was originally conceived in 2015 as an integration effort for a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals. Its primary experiment is the Skylight laser terminal, an experimental optical communications device.
Due to the experimental nature of key subsystems, LaCE was expanded in 2020 from the initial small satellite mission to a hybrid land, air, and space campaign. Ground experiments validated experimental LaCE subsystems, several of which are now commercially available products. The Stratospheric Optical Link Demonstration (SOLD), which launched on a high-altitude balloon (HAB) in 2023, successfully performed an optical link from a ground platform to a balloon flying in the stratosphere using LaCE hardware. The LaCE satellites are currently on orbit and are executing commissioning and early mission operations. LaCE plans to execute a space-to-ground optical link in Summer 2024, with a co-orbital space-to-space experiment planned for late 2024
Laser Crosslink Experiment: A Mission Overview
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The Laser Crosslink Experiment (LaCE) is an ongoing optical communication campaign with ground, stratospheric, and orbital elements. The principal LaCE experiment is two 6U CubeSats, LaCE 1 and LaCE 2, which were launched to a shared sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on March 4, 2024. LaCE was originally conceived in 2015 as an integration effort for a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals. Its primary experiment is the Skylight laser terminal, an experimental optical communications device.
Due to the experimental nature of key subsystems, LaCE was expanded in 2020 from the initial small satellite mission to a hybrid land, air, and space campaign. Ground experiments validated experimental LaCE subsystems, several of which are now commercially available products. The Stratospheric Optical Link Demonstration (SOLD), which launched on a high-altitude balloon (HAB) in 2023, successfully performed an optical link from a ground platform to a balloon flying in the stratosphere using LaCE hardware. The LaCE satellites are currently on orbit and are executing commissioning and early mission operations. LaCE plans to execute a space-to-ground optical link in Summer 2024, with a co-orbital space-to-space experiment planned for late 2024
