GOPEX: a deep-space optical communications demonstration with the Galileo spacecraft

Keith E. Wilson; Jon A. Schwartz; James R. Lesh

doi:10.1117/12.43739

1 June 1991 GOPEX: a deep-space optical communications demonstration with the Galileo spacecraft

Keith E. Wilson, Jon A. Schwartz, James R. Lesh

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 1417, Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies III; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.43739
Event: Optics, Electro-Optics, and Laser Applications in Science and Engineering, 1991, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

The Galileo Optical communications from an Earth-based Xmtr (GOPEX) demonstration is designed to exhibit deep-space optical communications using the Galileo spacecraft. The optical transmitter consists of a Nd:YAG laser coupled to a 24-in. telescope at the Table Mountain Observatory (TMO), and the receiver is the Solid-State Imaging camera on board Galileo. The objectives of the demonstration are to understand the issues involved in blind-pointing to a spacecraft in deep space, and to assess the quality of the optical uplink by comparing the experimental results with theoretical predictions. The demonstration is proposed for December 1992 during the second earth-flyby period of Galileo''s trajectory.

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Keith E. Wilson, Jon A. Schwartz, and James R. Lesh "GOPEX: a deep-space optical communications demonstration with the Galileo spacecraft", Proc. SPIE 1417, Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies III, (1 June 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.43739

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