NASA is set to send the Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) to the ISS, and when combined with the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), the two will complete the agency’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system. ILLUMA-T will showcase the power of laser communications from the space station using invisible infrared light and used to send as well as receive information at higher data rates.
Aside from faster data rates, laser systems are lighter and use less power, as ILLUMA-T is approximately the size of a standard refrigerator. It will be secured to an external module on the International Space Station to conduct its demonstration with LCRD. ILLUMA-T will launch aboard SpaceX’s 29th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA and withing the first two weeks after its launch, it will be removed from the Dragon spacecraft’s trunk for installation on the station’s Japanese Experiment Module-Exposed Facility (JEM-EF).
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Once ILLUMA-T is on the space station, the terminal will send high-resolution data, including pictures and videos to LCRD at a rate of 1.2 gigabits-per-second. Then, the data will be sent from LCRD to ground stations in Hawaii and California. This demonstration will show how laser communications can benefit missions in low Earth orbit,” said Matt Magsamen, deputy project manager for ILLUMA-T.
