Ground-to-OICETS laser communication experiments

Morio Toyoshima; Kenichi Takizawa; Toshiaki Kuri; Werner Klaus; Masahiro Toyoda; Hiroo Kunimori; Takashi Jono; Yoshihisa Takayama; Nobuhiro Kura; Kouichi Ohinata; Katsuyoshi Arai; Koichi Shiratama

doi:10.1117/12.693012

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1 September 2006 Ground-to-OICETS laser communication experiments

Morio Toyoshima, Kenichi Takizawa, Toshiaki Kuri, Werner Klaus, Masahiro Toyoda, Hiroo Kunimori, Takashi Jono, Yoshihisa Takayama, Nobuhiro Kura, Kouichi Ohinata, Katsuyoshi Arai, Koichi Shiratama

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Proceedings Volume 6304, Free-Space Laser Communications VI; 63040B (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.693012
Event: SPIE Optics + Photonics, 2006, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Ground-to-satellite laser communication experiments between the optical ground station located in Koganei of downtown Tokyo and a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, the Optical Inter-orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite (OICETS) called "Kirari", were successfully performed in March and May, 2006. The optical communication demonstration experiment at the optical ground station was conducted in cooperation between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). Ten trials over the course of two months were conducted during the test campaign. Acquisition and tracking of the satellite were successful on seven days out of the assigned test days. The tests were unsuccessful during three out of the four days when it was cloudy or rainy, but they were successful on all six of the days when partly clear skies were predominant. For the uplink, the fluctuation of the received signal power was well minimized by using multi-beam laser transmissions. The bit error ratio (BER) on the downlink was measured to be as low as 10^-5. The applicability of the onboard optical terminal was demonstrated, aiming not only for geostationary earth orbit (GEO)-LEO links but also for ground-to-LEO optical links.

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Morio Toyoshima, Kenichi Takizawa, Toshiaki Kuri, Werner Klaus, Masahiro Toyoda, Hiroo Kunimori, Takashi Jono, Yoshihisa Takayama, Nobuhiro Kura, Kouichi Ohinata, Katsuyoshi Arai, and Koichi Shiratama "Ground-to-OICETS laser communication experiments", Proc. SPIE 6304, Free-Space Laser Communications VI, 63040B (1 September 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.693012

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