Abstract
We report on the novel ALASCA (Advanced LGS AO for Satellite Communication Assessment) facility being built for ESA by a consortium of industry and national research institutes under the ScyLight program. The aim of ALASCA is to create a facility for Optical Feeder Links (OFL) field tests, as well as to demonstrate at the ESA Optical Ground Station in Tenerife, starting in 2023, 24/7 reliable operation of optimal Optical Feeder Links based on Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGS-AO) to solve the point-ahead problem on ground-space laser communications. Space optical communication represents a technological challenge due to its specific requirements and merit parameters; the consortium's extensive experience in LGS-AO in the astronomical field allows an expert technology transfer to earth-space communication. This will enhance the review of the ALASCA's main requirements, their implementation by a proper tailoring of the modular solutions that will be adopted by the design, facing the new challenges at system level posed by the OFL applications compared to astronomical solutions. The ALASCA project will, last but not least, provide a technology assessment and a development roadmap towards the industrial exploitation of a 24/7 operational Optical Ground Station (OGS). We will provide an overview of the ALASCA project, its goals, phases and planned timeline up to the field experiments; the presentation will then focus on the project status, including also the simulations results of LGS-AO assisted OFL.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings volume 12777 international conference on space optics — ICSO 2022 |
Subtitle of host publication | International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2022 |
Editors | Kyriaki Minoglou, Nikos Karafolas, Bruno Cugny |
Place of Publication | Bellingham, US |
Publisher | SPIE |
Pages | 1-18 |
Number of pages | 18 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781510668034 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 3 Oct 2022 |
Externally published | Yes |
Event | 2022 International Conference on Space Optics, ICSO 2022 - Dubrovnik, Croatia Duration: 3 Oct 2022 → 7 Oct 2022 |
Publication series
Name | Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering |
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Volume | 12777 |
ISSN (Print) | 0277-786X |
ISSN (Electronic) | 1996-756X |
Conference
Conference | 2022 International Conference on Space Optics, ICSO 2022 |
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Country/Territory | Croatia |
City | Dubrovnik |
Period | 3/10/22 → 7/10/22 |
Keywords
- Adaptive Optics
- Laser Guide Star
- Optical Communication
- Optical Feeder link
- Optical Ground Station