Multi-beam laser beacon propagation over lunar distance: comparison of predictions and measurements

Abstract

A multi-beam beacon was transmitted from the Optical Communication Telescope Laboratory (OCTL) located at Table Mountain, CA to the Lunar Laser Space Terminal (LLST), on-board the Lunar Atmospheric Dust and Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft, during NASA’s recent Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD). The laser beacon (1568±0.1 nm) was square wave modulated and sensed by a quadrant sensor on LLST. While link acquisition and tracking proceeded with the sensed signal, on-board processing extracted power incident on the quadrant sensor and telemetered it down over the optical downlink. Subsequently, post-processing of the codewords received at OCTL retrieved the power time series recorded at LLST. Analysis comparing measured and predicted mean irradiance delivered to LLST consistently agreed to within < 1 decibel (dB). Irradiance fluctuations detected at LLST were reconciled with an uplink wave-propagation simulation model using Kolmogorov phase screens.