Blog

Aug 20, 2023

SpaceX resupply mission will bring NASA laser communication system to ISS this year

Harnessing laser beams, ILLUMA-T is expected to transmit information at the rate of a respectable internet connection. Later this year, SpaceX’s 29th Commercial Resupply Services mission will lift a

Harnessing laser beams, ILLUMA-T is expected to transmit information at the rate of a respectable internet connection.

Later this year, SpaceX’s 29th Commercial Resupply Services mission will lift a refrigerator-sized device to the International Space Station.

This device — given the catchy name of Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) — will complete NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser communications system. Harnessing laser beams, ILLUMA-T will transmit information to another satellite at the rate of a respectable Earth-based internet connection.

Both crewed and uncrewed space missions have nearly always communicated (to Earth, from Earth, to each other) via tried and trusted radio waves. But sending information with lasers has a few advantages over radio. For one, laser equipment is lighter and less power-intensive, making it easier to fit on a craft. Plus, because laser light wavelengths are shorter than radio wavelengths, a laser communications link can transmit orders of magnitude more information at once.

Related: NASA's Psyche asteroid mission will test next-gen laser communications in space

Thus, NASA has tinkered with laser communications for over a decade, shooting light both between the ground and Earth orbit and between Earth and lunar space. Quietly joining NASA’s list was Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), fitted aboard a U.S. Department of Defense satellite that launched in December 2021.

— New laser communications system arrives at NASA for Artemis 2 moon mission

— Artemis 2 will use lasers to beam high-definition footage from the moon (video)

— Mini astrobiology laser could join hunt for life on Mars and beyond

Only after ILLUMA-T’s launch will LCRD assume its full purpose. Once ILLUMA-T is in operation aboard the ISS, it will begin beaming information to LCRD via infrared laser at a rate of 1.2 gigabits per second. From there, LCRD will relay the information to two ground stations: One in Hawaii and the other in California. Mission planners chose those locations to avoid cloud cover, which lasers struggle to penetrate.

If this tech demonstration is successful, LCRD will one day serve as a relay for other orbital laser links, too. Far into the future, astronauts may even speak by laser from much, much farther away.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Rahul Rao is a graduate of New York University's SHERP and a freelance science writer, regularly covering physics, space, and infrastructure. His work has appeared in Gizmodo, Popular Science, Inverse, IEEE Spectrum, and Continuum. He enjoys riding trains for fun, and he has seen every surviving episode of Doctor Who. He holds a masters degree in science writing from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and earned a bachelors degree from Vanderbilt University, where he studied English and physics.

Dead 'vampire' star is feeding on a companion and firing out cosmic cannonballs

NASA discussing September arrival of OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample: Watch live today

See Saturn snuggle up to the Super Blue Moon in the night sky tonight

By Robert LeaAugust 29, 2023

By Tereza PultarovaAugust 29, 2023

By Monisha RavisettiAugust 29, 2023

By Brett TingleyAugust 29, 2023

By Jeff SpryAugust 29, 2023

By Elizabeth HowellAugust 29, 2023

By Elizabeth HowellAugust 29, 2023

By Jay L. ZagorskyAugust 29, 2023

By Patrick PesterAugust 29, 2023

By Sharmila KuthunurAugust 29, 2023

By Brett TingleyAugust 29, 2023