NASA Funds Development of Advanced Laser Communications Systems with Small Businesses

NASA is collaborating with private industry partners and small businesses under the Artemis program to produce scalable, affordable, and advanced laser communications systems. These systems could enable greater exploration and discovery beyond Earth, providing increased data rates for space missions. Laser communications offer tighter data waves, allowing ground stations on Earth to receive more data at once, and can provide 10 to 100 times higher data rates than traditional radio systems.

In a recent collaboration, NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program funded the development of a new laser technology, the Basestation Optical Laser Terminal, by Fibertek Inc. This four-channel laser unit could enable high-power communications to the Moon during the Artemis II flight test. The Artemis II demonstration will use laser communications to transmit high-resolution images and video of the lunar region to two ground stations, including NASA’s Low-Cost Optical Terminal.

The Low-Cost Optical Terminal, located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, uses commercial off-the-shelf hardware to reduce the expense of implementing laser communications technology. In September 2023, Fibertek’s technology was successfully integrated into NASA’s low-cost terminal ground station. NASA’s investment in the development of this technology benefits the agency, Fibertek, and any future system integrators or developers using laser communications technology.

As NASA prepares to send humans back to the Moon for the first time in 50 years, new laser technologies will enable more efficient laser communications systems, expanding humanity’s knowledge of our Moon and what lies beyond. For more information on laser communications technology, visit NASA’s website.