24/7 Space News
TECH SPACE
Precision pointing goes the distance on NASA experiment
illustration only
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
Precision pointing goes the distance on NASA experiment
by Nancy Pekar for DSOC News
Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 15, 2024

One year ago, the future of space communications arrived at Earth as a beam of light from a NASA spacecraft nearly 10 million miles away. That's 40 times farther than our Moon. That's like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away. That's pretty precise.

That laser - transmitted from NASA's DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications) technology demonstration - has continued to hit its target on Earth from record-breaking distances.

"NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications features many novel technologies that are needed to precisely point and track the uplink beacon and direct the downlink laser," said Bill Klipstein, DSOC project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

One of the technologies aiding that extremely precise pointing was invented by a small business and fostered by NASA for more than a decade.

Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On (Not!)
Part of the challenge with the precision pointing needed for DSOC was isolating the laser from the spacecraft's vibrations, which would nudge the beam off target. Fortunately for NASA, Controlled Dynamics Inc. (CDI), in Huntington Beach, California, offered a solution to this problem.

The company had a platform designed to isolate orbiting experiments from vibrations caused by their host spacecraft, other payloads, crew movements, or even their own equipment. Just as the shocks on a car provide a smoother ride, the struts and actuators on CDI's vibration isolation platform created a stable setting for delicate equipment.

This idea needed to be developed and tested first to prove successful.

The Path to Deep Space Success
NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate started supporting the platform's development in 2012 under its Game Changing Development program with follow-on support from the SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program. The technology really began to take off - pun intended - under NASA's Flight Opportunities program. Managed out of NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, Flight Opportunities rapidly demonstrates promising technologies aboard suborbital rockets and other vehicles flown by commercial companies.

Early flight tests in 2013 sufficiently demonstrated the platform's performance, earning CDI's technology a spot on the International Space Station in 2016. But the flight testing didn't end there. A rapid series of flights with Blue Origin, UP Aerospace, and Virgin Galactic put the platform through its paces, including numerous boosts and thruster firings, pyrotechnic shocks, and the forces of reentry and landing.

"Flight Opportunities was instrumental in our development," said Dr. Scott Green, CDI's co-founder and the platform's principal investigator. "With five separate flight campaigns in just eight months, those tests allowed us to build up flight maturity and readiness so we could transition to deep space."

The culmination of NASA's investments in CDI's vibration isolation platform was through its Technology Demonstration Missions program, which along with NASA's SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program supported NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications.

On Oct. 13, 2023, DSOC launched aboard the Psyche spacecraft, a mission managed by JPL. The CDI isolation platform provided DSOC with the active stabilization and precision pointing needed to successfully transmit a high-definition video of Taters the cat and other sample data from record-breaking distances in deep space.

"Active stabilization of the flight laser transceiver is required to help the project succeed in its goal to downlink high bandwidth data from millions of miles," said Klipstein. "To do this, we need to measure our pointing and avoid bumping into the spacecraft while we are floating. The CDI struts gave us that capability."

The Psyche spacecraft is expected to reach its namesake metal-rich asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter by August 2029. In the meantime, the DSOC project team is celebrating recognition as one of TIME's Inventions of 2024 and expects the experiment to continue adding to its long list of goals met and exceeded in its first year.

Related Links
Deep Space Optical Communications
Space Technology News - Applications and Research

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
TECH SPACE
Scientists show how a laser beam can cast a shadow
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 15, 2024
Can a beam of light cast a shadow? While this might sound counterintuitive, researchers have demonstrated that under particular conditions, a laser beam can indeed act like an opaque object and cast a shadow. This discovery challenges conventional beliefs about light interactions and suggests potential new applications in using one laser to control another. "Laser light casting a shadow was previously thought impossible since light usually passes through other light without interacting," explained ... read more

TECH SPACE
French satellite startup U-Space partners with Neuraspace for satellite safety

Trump's approach to space policy could throw up some surprises, especially with Elon Musk on board

Metakosmos introduces Kernel360 platform to advance human spaceflight capabilities

'Terrible' AI has given tech an existential headache: activist

TECH SPACE
Trump expected to attend next Starship rocket launch: reports

Starship launches into nominal orbit, booster ditched in ocean

Next Starship Flight Test Scheduled for Tuesday with 30-Minute Launch Window

NORR and Fire Arrow join forces for sustainable spaceport projects

TECH SPACE
Meteorite contains evidence of liquid water on Mars 742M years ago

Peculiar Pale Pebbles

Off-the-shelf thermoelectric generators could enable CO2 conversion on Mars

Chinese rover finds signs of ancient ocean on Mars

TECH SPACE
China's commercial space sector expands as firms outline ambitious plans

China prepares Tianzhou 8 for upcoming launch to Tiangong station

Model of Haoloong Space Cargo Shuttle to Be Unveiled at Airshow China

Shenzhou 18 brings back samples for space habitability and materials research

TECH SPACE
Starfish Space raises $29M to propel Otter satellite servicing vehicles

Globalstar secures terrestrial spectrum authorization in Mexico

Booz Allen invests in Starfish Space to support satellite servicing

Forsway awarded 2.3 MEUR by ESA to develop Xtend 5G connectivity system

TECH SPACE
NRL develops satellite servicing robotics, enhancing U.S. space infrastructure resilience

Precision pointing goes the distance on NASA experiment

Northrop Grumman advances mission robotic vehicle for satellite servicing

Enormous potential for rare Earth elements found in US coal ash

TECH SPACE
On the origin of life and the formation of cell membranes

A new model estimates odds of intelligent life across universes

Optimal Learning Rates Revealed in New Study on Adaptation

Ariel spacecraft prepares for rigorous tests at Airbus facility

TECH SPACE
Uranus moon Miranda may hold a hidden ocean below its surface

NASA and SpaceX Set for Europa Clipper Launch on October 14

NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon

Is life possible on a Jupiter moon? NASA goes to investigate

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.