Session
Advanced Technologies 3
Location
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Abstract
Optical data transport in the cis-lunar regime is an enabling capability for sustained lunar exploration, space-based astronomy, and distributed sensing architectures. This paper presents the design, analysis, and experimental validation of a 100 Gb/s-class coherent optical communication transceiver that extends beyond LEO to GEO and cis-lunar applications. Target missions include lunar constellations, relays at Earth–Moon L1, and direct-to-Earth links, with relevance to NASA Artemis campaigns, enabling a future lunar infrastructure, and high-throughput science missions. This technology also supports future space data centers with the potential for Terabit optical links using WDM.
System-level performance requirements are derived from a parametric link analysis covering a range of lunar circular and elliptical orbits. Both intersatellite and direct-to-Earth scenarios are considered. The study includes ground telescope aperture and site assumptions. We also assessed potential links from Sun–Earth L1/L2 space weather and science applications. Doppler magnitude and Doppler rate of change are quantified for representative geometries to bound the signal dynamics. These results set performance requirements for the digital signal processing (DSP).
Fibertek conducted breadboard measurements on space-capable 100 Gb/s coherent module with simulated Doppler input signals. The results indicate that the embedded DSP can track the expected frequency dynamics for cis-lunar links within the analyzed envelope. We demonstrated that the transmitter signal can be amplified to 20 W optical power while maintaining signal integrity compatible with multi-channel wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), enabling aggregate capacities of n × 100 Gb/s. On the receive side, we measure a sensitivity on the order of 5 photons per bit for intersatellite links when a pre-amplified coherent receiver architecture is employed.
Building on this analysis and risk-reduction testing, we designed a high technology readiness level (TRL) dual wavelength channel transceiver that is WDM compatible and supports 2 × 100 Gb/s operation. This configuration can support applications including an OISL optical relay, a relay with an add/drop capability, or support multiple mesh optical links. The two-channel system can also be used to support a high reliability 100% redundancy implementation. The design analysis included thermal and structural random to > 14Grms.
Each wavelength channel incorporates an FPGA to enable future implementation of Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) schemes and buffering strategies for mitigation of atmospheric fades and other channel impairments. The flight-like unit has a mass of approximately 5.6 kg and a power consumption of about 31 W per 100 Gb/s channel. It can be integrated with existing optical communication terminals or paired with 1–50 W external optical amplifiers to scale toward terabit-per-second class links.
This work, supported under a NASA Small Business Innovation Research program, indicates that compact, high throughput optical transceivers can provide the backbone for cis-lunar and deep-space “data clouds,” interconnecting lunar assets, Lagrange-point relays, and terrestrial networks in a scalable and standards-compatible manner. Future work includes completing the system's firmware, environmental TRL 6 verification testing, and adding the ARQ capability for direct-to-earth applications.
Document Type
Event
High Data Rate Scalable N x 100G Transceiver for Cube/Small Sats for Cis-Lunar, GEO, And Data Center Applications
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Optical data transport in the cis-lunar regime is an enabling capability for sustained lunar exploration, space-based astronomy, and distributed sensing architectures. This paper presents the design, analysis, and experimental validation of a 100 Gb/s-class coherent optical communication transceiver that extends beyond LEO to GEO and cis-lunar applications. Target missions include lunar constellations, relays at Earth–Moon L1, and direct-to-Earth links, with relevance to NASA Artemis campaigns, enabling a future lunar infrastructure, and high-throughput science missions. This technology also supports future space data centers with the potential for Terabit optical links using WDM.
System-level performance requirements are derived from a parametric link analysis covering a range of lunar circular and elliptical orbits. Both intersatellite and direct-to-Earth scenarios are considered. The study includes ground telescope aperture and site assumptions. We also assessed potential links from Sun–Earth L1/L2 space weather and science applications. Doppler magnitude and Doppler rate of change are quantified for representative geometries to bound the signal dynamics. These results set performance requirements for the digital signal processing (DSP).
Fibertek conducted breadboard measurements on space-capable 100 Gb/s coherent module with simulated Doppler input signals. The results indicate that the embedded DSP can track the expected frequency dynamics for cis-lunar links within the analyzed envelope. We demonstrated that the transmitter signal can be amplified to 20 W optical power while maintaining signal integrity compatible with multi-channel wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), enabling aggregate capacities of n × 100 Gb/s. On the receive side, we measure a sensitivity on the order of 5 photons per bit for intersatellite links when a pre-amplified coherent receiver architecture is employed.
Building on this analysis and risk-reduction testing, we designed a high technology readiness level (TRL) dual wavelength channel transceiver that is WDM compatible and supports 2 × 100 Gb/s operation. This configuration can support applications including an OISL optical relay, a relay with an add/drop capability, or support multiple mesh optical links. The two-channel system can also be used to support a high reliability 100% redundancy implementation. The design analysis included thermal and structural random to > 14Grms.
Each wavelength channel incorporates an FPGA to enable future implementation of Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) schemes and buffering strategies for mitigation of atmospheric fades and other channel impairments. The flight-like unit has a mass of approximately 5.6 kg and a power consumption of about 31 W per 100 Gb/s channel. It can be integrated with existing optical communication terminals or paired with 1–50 W external optical amplifiers to scale toward terabit-per-second class links.
This work, supported under a NASA Small Business Innovation Research program, indicates that compact, high throughput optical transceivers can provide the backbone for cis-lunar and deep-space “data clouds,” interconnecting lunar assets, Lagrange-point relays, and terrestrial networks in a scalable and standards-compatible manner. Future work includes completing the system's firmware, environmental TRL 6 verification testing, and adding the ARQ capability for direct-to-earth applications.
