DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications)

2023

For the first time, it was possible to transmit video from space to Earth using a laser

On December 11, 2023, NASA specialists for the first time in the world streamed ultra-high definition video from space to Earth via laser communication. This achievement paves the way for the organization of high-speed channels of information transmission in deep space.

The experiment was carried out as part of the Psyche mission to study the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. On board this spacecraft, launched on October 13, 2023, a specialized Deep Space Optical Communications Module (DSOC) is installed. We are talking about the use of a near-infrared laser to form a high-bandwidth line.

NASA for the first time in the world streamed ultra-high definition video from space to Earth via laser communication

In a super-resolution demo video uploaded to Psyche station memory before launch, a red cat named Taters chases a laser pointer spot. Additional technical information is superimposed on the image. The 15-second video was transmitted from the spacecraft to the Hale Telescope at the California Institute of Technology Palomar Observatory in San Diego County. The video was then broadcast in real time to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

At the time of the transfer of materials, the distance between the Psyche station and the telescope was about 31 million km, which is 80 times the distance between the Earth and the moon. The signal took 101 seconds to complete this path. The information transfer rate reached 267 Mbps.

Despite the fact that the transmission was carried out over a distance of millions of kilometers, the system was able to broadcast video at a higher speed than most broadband Internet connections. After receiving the signal in Palomar, he was sent to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory via the Internet, and this connection turned out to be slower than the communication line from deep space, says NASA.[1]

Creation of technology

On August 7, 2023, NASA announced the creation of a new laser space communication technology that will provide 10 to 100 times higher data transfer rates compared to modern radio systems.

We are talking about the project of optical communications for deep space DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications). The near-infrared laser transceiver will be one of the components of Psyche's mission to study the metal-rich asteroid Psyche. The launch of this automatic interplanetary station is scheduled for October 5, 2023.

Deep Space Optical Communications

The DSOC system uses a powerful uplink laser. The corresponding installation will be located in the NASA Optical Communication Telescope Laboratory near Wrightwood (California). Commands will be broadcast through this uplink to a transceiver aboard the Psyche mission spacecraft. After capturing the ascending laser, the space transceiver will detect the 5.1-meter Hale Telescope at the California Institute of Technology Palomar Observatory in San Diego County. The transceiver as part of Psyche then activates its near-infrared laser for high-speed data transmission to Palomar.

Spacecraft vibrations that can interfere with targeting will be extinguished by specially designed telescopic supports. To receive a high-speed downlink signal from the DSOC transmitter, the Hale telescope is retrofitted with a new single photon detector from a superconducting nanowire. This system has cryogenic cooling. It is expected that the maximum distance over which data will be transmitted through the DSOC system will exceed 300 million km.^[2]

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