Abstract
This paper presents an Optical Intersatellite Link (OISL) terminal design that has the flexibility to meet the requirements of a wide range of potential customers. The program concentrated on the development of the terminal Optical Front End (OFE). The OFE acts as the interface between a fiber-optic communication sub-system and free-space. It finds and tracks the partner satellite, and then maintains a full duplex optical communication link with that partner; 1550 nm is the chosen communication wavelength because of its compatibility with established terrestrial standards. However, the use of all metal, all reflective optics permits the choice of other wavelengths. This paper reviews the terminal architecture and the design of the key OFE components. At the heart of the OFE resides the Afocal Optical Assembly (AOA), positioned between the terminal's telescope and the fiber-optic subsystem. The AOA is essentially a mini-OFE unto itself. It is the common element in all variations of the terminal design. For this reason, the construction and testing of a flight-representative AOA was a significant achievement.
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