NASA’s new communications system LCRD
- December 8, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
NASA’s new communications system LCRD
Subject – Science and Tech
Context – NASA launched its new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)
Concept –
- NASA launched its new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) — the agency’s first-ever laser communications system.
- The LCRD will help the agency test optical communication in space.
- Currently, most NASA spacecraft use radio frequency communications to send data. Optical communications will help increase the bandwidth 10 to 100 times more than radio frequency systems.
- 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.
Laser VS radio
- Laser communications and radio waves use different wavelengths of light.
- Laser uses infrared light and has a shorter wavelength than radio waves. This will help the transmission of more data in a short time.
Advantages of optical communications
- Optical communications systems are smaller in size, weight, and require less power compared with radio instruments.
- A smaller size means more room for science instruments.
- Less weight means a less expensive launch.
- Less power means less drain on the spacecraft’s batteries.
- With optical communications supplementing radio, missions will have unparalleled communications capabilities.