Overview

Below is a list of acronyms commonly used in free-space optics.

• ACM
  • Atmospheric Channel Monitoring
• AFTS
  • Airborne Flight Test System
• AIT
  • Australian Institute of Technology
• AO
  • Adaptive Optics
• ARQ
  • Automatic Repeat Request
• ATP
  • Acquisition, Tracking and Pointing
• BER
  • Bit-Error Rate
• BICM
  • Bit Interleaved Coded Modulation
• CODEC
  • Coder/Decoder
• C-ARQ
  • Cooperative Diversity with Automatic Repeat Request
• CALIPSO
  • Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation
• CCD
  • Charge Coupled Device
• CEMERLL
  • Compensated Earth Moon-Earth Retro-Reflector Laser Link
• CFARC
  • Cloud-Free ARC
• CFLOS
  • Cloud-Free Line-of-Sight
• CMOS
  • Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
• CSI
  • Channel State Information
• CSP
  • Commercial Service Provider
• CW
  • Continuous-Wave
• DAPPM
  • Differential Amplitude Pulse Position Modulation
• DARPA
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
• DFE
  • Direct from Earth
• DHPIM
  • Dual Header Pulse Interval Modulation
• DOLCE
  • Deep Space Optical Link Communications Experiment
• DPPM
  • Differential Pulse Position Modulation
• DPSK
  • Differential Phase Shift Keying
• DTE
  • Direct to Earth
• DTN
  • Delay Tolerant Networking
• DWDM
  • Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
• ECS
  • Emergency Communications Study
• EDRS
  • European Data Relay Satellite System
• EGC
  • Equal Gain Combining
• EMI
  • Electromagnetic Interference
• ERNESt
  • Earth Regimes Network Evolution Study
• ESA
  • European Space Agency
• ETS
  • Engineering Test Satellite
• EW
  • Exponentiated Weibull
• FAR
  • Federal Acquisition Regulations
• FEC
  • Forward Error Correction
• FELT
  • Free Space Experimental Laser Terminal
• FIR
  • Far Infrared
• FOV
  • Field-of-View
• FPA
  • Focal Plane Array
  • Focal Pixel Array
• FSM
  • Fast Steering Mirrors
• FSO
  • Free-Space Optics
• Gbps
  • Gigabits per second
• GEO
  • Geostationary Earth Orbit
• GEOS-II
  • Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite-II
• GLONASS
  • Global Navigation Satellite System
• GOLD
  • Ground/Orbiter Lasercomm Demonstration
• COMSEC
  • Communications Security
• GPS
  • Global Positioning System
• GS
  • Ground Station
• GSFC
  • Goddard Space Flight Center
• H-ARQ
  • Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request
• HAIPE
  • High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor
• HAP
  • High Altitude Platform
• HBRF
  • High-bandwidth Radio Frequency
• HICALI
  • High Speed Communication with Advanced Laser Instrument
• HTS
  • High Throughput Satellites
• IEC
  • International Electrotechanical Commission
• IF
  • Intermediate Frequency
• ILLUMA
  • Integrated LCRD LEO User Modem and Amplifier
• ILLUMA-T
  • Integrated LCRD LEO User Modem and Amplifier Terminal
• IR
  • Infrared
• ISI
  • Intersymbol Interfence
• ISL
  • Inter-Satellite Links
• ISR
  • Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
• ISS
  • International Space Station
• ITU
  • International Telecommunication Union
• JAXA
  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
• JDRS
  • Japanese Data Relay System
• JPL
  • Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• LCLS
  • Laser Cross Link System
• LCRD
  • Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
• LEO
  • Low Earth Orbit
• LiDAR
  • Light Detection and Ranging
• LIR
  • Long Infrared
  • Also, LWIR: long-wave infrared
• LLCD
  • Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration
• LMOC
  • LCRD Mission Operations Center
• LMS
  • Least Means Squared
• LO
  • Local Oscillator
• LOLA
  • Laser Optical Link Airborne
• LOS
  • Line-of-Sight
• LQG
  • Linear-Quadratic Gaussian
• MAC
  • Medium Access Control
• MAP
  • Maximum-a-Posteriori
• Mbps
  • Megabits per second
• MC-ARQ
  • Modified Cooperative Diversity with Automatic Repeat Request
• MEMS
  • Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems
• MEO
  • Medium Earth Orbit
• MIMO
  • Multiple Input Multiple Output
• MIR
  • Mid Infrared
  • Also, MWIR: mid-wave infrared
• MISO
  • Multiple Input Single Output
• MITLL
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory
• ML
  • Maximum Likelihood
• MLCD
  • Mars Laser Communications Demonstration
• MLSD
  • Maximum-Likelihood Sequence Detection
• MOC
  • Mission Operation Center
• MOLA
  • Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter
• MPE
  • Maximum Possible Exposure
• MRC
  • Maximal Ratio Combining
• MSIM
  • Multiple Sub-carrier Intensity Modulation
• MVSAT
  • Mobile Very Small Aperture Terminal
• NASA
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• NEN
  • Near-Earth Network
• NICT
  • National Institute of Information and Communications Technology
• NIR
  • Near Infrared
• OAF
  • Optical Amplify-and-Forward
• OAM
  • Orbital Angular Momentum
• OCD
  • Optical Communication Demonstrator
• OCTL
  • Optical Communication Telescope Laboratory
• OFDM
  • Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
  • Optical Frequency Division Multiplexing
• OGS
  • Optical Ground Station
• OICETS
  • Optical Inter-Orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite
• OIL
  • Optical Injection Locking
• OIPLL
  • Optical Injection Phase-Lock Loop
• OISL
  • Optical Inter-Satellite Link
• OOK
  • On-Off Keying
• OPALS
  • Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science
• OPLL
  • Optical Phase-Lock Loop
• OPPM
  • Overlapping Pulse Position Modulation
• ORF
  • Optical Regenerate-and-Forward
• OSN
  • Optical Satellite Network
• OST
  • Optical Space Terminal
• OWC
  • Optical Wireless Communication
• PAA
  • Point Ahead Angle
• PAM
  • Pulse Amplitude Modulation
• PAPR
  • Peak-to-Average Power Ratio
• PDF
  • Probability Density Function
• PIM
  • Pulse Interval Modulation
• QAM
  • Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
• QAPD
  • Quadrant Avalanche Photodiodes
• QoS
  • Quality of Service
• RF
  • Radio Frequency
• RFGS
  • RF Ground Station
• RFI
  • Request For Information
• RIN
  • Relative Intensity Noise
• RME
  • Relay Mirror Experiment
• ROSA
  • RF Optical System for Aurora
• RPA
  • Remotely Piloted Aircraft
• RS
  • Reed-Solomon
• RZ
  • Return-to-Zero
• SAM
  • Spin Angular Momentum
• SAR
  • Synthetic Aperture Radar
• SATCOM
  • Satellite Communications
• SC
  • Selection Combining
• SCaN
  • Space Communication and Navigation
• SC-BPSK
  • Sub-Carrier Binary Phase Shift Keying
• SCGS
  • SCaN Control and Ground Segment
• SC-QPSK
  • Sub-Carrier Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
• SGL
  • Space to Ground Links
• SILEX
  • Semiconductor Inter-Satellite Link Experiment
• SIM
  • Sub-Carrier Intensity Modulation
• SIMO
  • Single Input Multiple Output
• SIR
  • Short Infrared
  • Also, SWIR: short-wave infrared
• SLC
  • Submarine Laser Communication
• SLM
  • Spatial Light Modulator
• SN
  • Space Network
• SOCRATES
  • Space Optical Communications Research Advanced Technology Satellite
• SOLACOS
  • Solid State Laser Communications in Space
• SOTA
  • Small Optical Transponder
• SR-ARQ
  • Selective Repeat-Automatic Repeat Request
• SROIL
  • Short Range Optical Inter-Satellite Link
• SSU
  • Space Switching Unit
• STCP
  • SCaN Transportable Communication Platform
• STP
  • Space Test Program
• STR
  • Self-Tuning Regulator
• STROPEX
  • Stratospheric Optical Payload Experiment
• SWaP
  • Size Weight and Power consumption
• TASS
  • TDRSS Augmentation Satellite Service
• TCM
  • Trellis-Coded Modulation
• TDRS
  • Tracking Data and Relay Satellite
• TDRSS
  • Tracking Data and Relay Satellite System
• TES
  • Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer
• TFL
  • Tracking Feedback Loop
• TRANSEC
  • Transmission Security
• TOGS
  • Transportable Optical Ground Station
• TRL
  • Technical Readiness Level
• UAV
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
• UIS
  • User-Initiated Service
• USLP
  • Universal Space Link Protocol
• VSAT
  • Very Small Aperture Terminal
• VLSI
  • Very Large Scale Integration
• WDM
  • Wavelength Division Multiplexing
• WGS
  • Wideband Global SATCOM