Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T)
Summary:
The ILLUMA-T payload was delivered to the ISS on November 9th via a SpaceX Falcon 9, and then installed onto the exposed facility of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM)and used to communicate with NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) Satellite. Both ILLUMA-T and LCRD are part of the NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. The system transmits from the ISS in low earth orbit to the LCRD in geostationary orbit, and then from the LCRD to an Optical Ground Station in California or Hawaii.
The transmission rate from the ILLUMA-T is expected to be at 1.2 gigabits-per-second.
References:
NASA’s First Two-way End-to-End Laser Communications Relay System – NASA
ILLUMA-T | MIT Lincoln Laboratory
NASA to Demonstrate Laser Communications from Space Station – NASA