Abstract
Optical communication is becoming more prevalent in orbit due to the need for increased data throughput. Nanosatellites, which are satellites that typically weigh less than 10 kg, are also becoming more common due to lower launch costs that enable the rapid testing of technology in a space environment. Nanosatellites are cheaper to launch than their larger counterparts and may be a viable option for communicating beyond Earth’s orbit, but have strict Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) requirements. The Miniature Optical Communication Transceiver (MOCT) is a compact optical transceiver designed to provide modest data rates to SWaP constrained platforms, like nanosatellites. This paper will cover the optical amplifier characterization and simulated performance of the MOCT amplifier design that produces 1 kW peak power pulses and closes three optical links which include Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Earth, LEO to LEO, and Moon to Earth. Additionally, a benchtop version of the amplifier design was constructed and was able to produce amplified pulses with 1.37 W peak power, including a 35.7% transmit optics loss, at a pump power of 500 mW. Finally, the modulator, seed laser, amplifier, receiver, and time-to-digital converter were all used together to measure the Bit Error Ratio (BER), which was 0.00257 for a received optical peak power of 176 nW.
Highlights
The Miniature Optical Communication Transceiver (MOCT) laboratory hardware incorporates the same components as the MOCT space hardware, which includes the modulator, pulse driver, optical amplifier, avalanche photodetectors (APDs), and to-Digital Converter (TDC)
These values are adjusted for the added attenuation, but include the 31.7% losses from output fiber optics
The amplifier design is expected to be able to close optical links from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Earth, LEO to LEO, and Moon to Earth based upon the simulation used to model the amplifier design
Summary
High bandwidth communication is needed in space to transfer the collected data to Earth or other satellites where the data can be processed and utilized. Satellite missions are increasingly taking place outside of Earth’s orbit to explore other planets and celestial bodies. These interplanetary satellite missions will likely have limited communication link opportunities and need to transfer as much data as possible during these windows. Small satellites, which are satellites with a mass less than ∼500 kg, can be used to fulfill these deep space missions. Small satellites have lower launch costs than larger satellites, since the launch cost increases with increasing satellite mass. Nanosatellites, which are satellites with a mass less than ∼10 kg, are a subset of small satellites. Nanosatellites have even lower launch costs and can be Aerospace 2019, 6, 2; doi:10.3390/aerospace6010002 www.mdpi.com/journal/aerospace
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