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
NASA’s First Two-way End-to-End Laser Communications Relay System
NASA is demonstrating laser communications on multiple missions – showcasing the benefits infrared light can have for science and exploration…
Join NASA to Discuss High-Rate Laser Comms Demo, Space Station Science
Editor’s Note: This advisory was updated on Oct. 23 to update the list of participants for the teleconference. NASA will host…
Disruption Tolerant Networking Experiments with Optical Communications
The Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD) is one of the instruments on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE),…
NASA’s Laser Communications Relay: A Year of Experimentation
NASA’s first two-way laser relay system completed its first year of experiments on June 28 – a milestone for a…
What’s Next: The Future of NASA’s Laser Communications
NASA uses lasers to send information to and from Earth, employing invisible beams to traverse the skies, sending terabytes of…
Laser Terminal Bound for Space Station Arrives at NASA Goddard for Testing
Soon the International Space Station will get a laser light terminal: Beams of invisible infrared light will soar through the…
Laser Terminal Bound for Space Station Arrives at NASA Goddard for Testing
Soon the International Space Station will get a laser light terminal: Beams of invisible infrared light will soar through the…
CubeSat Set to Demonstrate NASA’s Fastest Laser Link from Space
NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator 3 (PTD-3) mission, carrying the TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) system, will debut on May 25 as…
NASA Looks Ahead in 2022: Artemis, X-59, Lunar Exploration, and More
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.
