LLCD: 622 Mbit/s from lunar distance
The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration established a record 622 Mbit/s downlink from LADEE in lunar orbit and a 20 Mbit/s uplink.
- Team / system
- NASA · MIT Lincoln Laboratory · LADEE
- Link geometry
- Approximately 384,000 km
- Platform
- Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration
- Year / programme
- 2013
01 · SYSTEM
How it was achieved
LLCD paired a compact lunar terminal with three geographically separated ground stations. Spatially separated transmit apertures, sensitive receive telescopes and error-control processing sustained the link through daylight and difficult viewing geometry.
02 · EVIDENCE
Evidence snapshot
- 01
622 Mbit/s lunar-to-Earth downlink.
- 02
20 Mbit/s Earth-to-lunar uplink.
- 03
Error-free operation was reported in daylight and at low elevation angles.
- 04
The demonstration operated even when the Moon was within three degrees of the Sun.
03 · SIGNIFICANCE
Why it matters
LLCD proved that precision optical links could move beyond laboratory trials and deliver operationally useful capacity across lunar distance.
05 · REFERENCES
Sources & references
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