Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)
The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aims to showcase the unique capabilities of optical communications.
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Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
Optical communications will provide significant benefits for missions, including bandwidth increases of 10 to 100 times more than radio frequency systems.
Additionally, optical communications provides decreased size, weight, and power requirements. 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.
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Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Fact Sheet
The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) is poised to revolutionize the way NASA communicates with spacecraft.
LCRD is pioneering operations for a new space communications system using lasers to encode and transmit data at rates 10 to 100 times better than radio systems.
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Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
Launch Blog
NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and a NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory space weather payload to study the Sun’s radiation lifted off at 5:19 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021.
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NASA's LCRD: 6 Things You Need to Know
NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration will use laser communications systems to transmit data from space to Earth. Below are six things you need to know about NASA’s revolutionary LCRD mission.
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Laser Communications Relay Demonstration News
A NASA technology experiment on the International Space Station completed its first laser link with an in-orbit laser relay system…
NASA is demonstrating laser communications on multiple missions – showcasing the benefits infrared light can have for science and exploration…
The Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD) is one of the instruments on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE),…
NASA’s first two-way laser relay system completed its first year of experiments on June 28 – a milestone for a…
NASA uses lasers to send information to and from Earth, employing invisible beams to traverse the skies, sending terabytes of…
Soon the International Space Station will get a laser light terminal: Beams of invisible infrared light will soar through the…
Soon the International Space Station will get a laser light terminal: Beams of invisible infrared light will soar through the…
NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator 3 (PTD-3) mission, carrying the TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) system, will debut on May 25 as…
After a 2021 filled with complex challenges and extraordinary successes, 2022 is shaping up to be another busy year for NASA. Receiving the…
LCRD
Connect Students with Laser Communications!
Share your excitement about this new way of communicating with satellites by using these student and family resources.
