Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)

Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)

News: NASA recently demonstrated its Laser Communication Relay Demonstrator. It is the agency’s first ever laser communications system. The LCRD will help the agency test optical communication in space.

About:
• LCRD is a technology demonstration that will pave the way for future optical communications missions.
• The LCRD payload is hosted onboard the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program Satellite 6 (STPSat-6).
• It will be in a geosynchronous orbit, over 35,000km above Earth.

Benefits of Optical communications systems:
• Optical communications systems are smaller in size, weight, and require less power compared with radio instruments.
• Smaller size gives more room for space instruments. Less weight eases cost on launch, less power means less drain on spacecraft batteries and optical communications will have unparalleled communication capabilities.
• Laser communication use different wavelength of light. It uses infrared light and has a shorter wavelength than radio waves. This helps the transmission of more data in a short time.