NASA’s TBIRD Mission Demonstrates 1.4TB Optical Downlink

#News(IoTStack) [ via IoTGroup ]

NASA’s TBIRD mission recently achieved a record for optical communications in space.The satellite downlinked 1.4 terabytes of data over laser communications links in a single pass that lasted about five minutes.

The agency confirmed the demonstration Dec.1.The TBIRD payload — TeraByte InfraRed Delivery — was built by built by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory and integrated into NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator 3 Satellite (PTD-3), built by Terran Orbital.

This is part of NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program.The TBIRD mission is testing laser communications in Low-Earth Orbit on a small satellite, which NASA believes can substantially increase data transport capabilities.NASA’s goal for the mission is to demonstrate a downlink of 200 gigabits per second.“Terran Orbital is grateful for NASA and MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s partnership in the PTD-3 mission.We look forward to completing the next record-breaking space-to-ground optical link – at 200 gigabits per second – in the near future,” commented Marc Bell, CEO of Terran Orbital.

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