LaCE Spacecraft - Nanosats Database

Spacecraft name	LaCE
Form factor	CubeSat
Units or mass	3U
Entity name	Naval Information Warfare Command (NIWC) Pacific
Institution	Military
Entity	Government (Civil / Military)
Country	US
Launch brokerer	SEOPS
Oneliner	Demonstrate a low SWAP optical communications crosslink in LEO (Low Earth Orbit).
Description	Demonstrate a low SWAP optical communications crosslink in LEO (Low Earth Orbit). The Laser Crosslink Experiment (LaCE) engineering team at the Naval Information Warfare Command (NIWC) Pacific is actively dedicated to pursuing further experimentation on optical links for CubeSats. A research and development engineering team is working on proposals for experimentation with Laser CubeSat communications. The LaCE program currently consists of two or more 6U CubeSats and a single, standalone test ground station, which has not been linked for coverage expansion. The experiment will aim to connect the two satellites in a “peer-to-peer” optical laser network connection and communicate to the ground station using radio frequency (RF). The LaCE design integrates various subsystems for handling commands, telemetry, power, control, payloads, and ground station communication. Currently, the mission seeks primarily to demonstrate an optical laser communication crosslink capability on a small scale. The LaCE project will focus on applying this capability in more diverse environments to include expanded ground architectures. An architecture for communication from satellite to ground via laser is still developing for the LaCE experiment. However, this is a topic of high interest and an area for exploration in this research effort. The current proof of concept establishes a satellite-to-satellite optical communications link, which can then be linked to a single ground station location via radio frequency signals. The LaCE engineering team conducted an initial ground station trade study and analysis of alternatives (AoA). The study proposed a comparison between the NRL Blossom Point, KRATOS Quantum, and MC3 ground station architectures. The results concluded that the MC3 build would be the most viable option. Based on the similarities of the study, the findings of this thesis research have the potential to aid in the progression of the LaCE program objectives.
Results	22nd Annual CDW Presentation.
Sources	[1] [2] [3] [4]
Photo sources	[1]
Keywords	Laser transmitter, License Plate Identification Tag

Related Spacecraft

Spacecraft	Status	Rocket	Launch date	Orbit
LaCE 1 (Lace A, LaCE-1, Laser Crosslink Experiment)	Reentry 2025-05-22. Was operational (SmallSat 2024 and CDW 2025 presentations)	Falcon 9, (Transporter-10)	2024-03-04	510 km, 97.5 deg
LaCE 2 (Lace B, LaCE-2, Laser Crosslink Experiment)	Reentry 2025-06-04. Was operational until 2024-03-13 (CDW 2025 presentation)	Falcon 9, (Transporter-10)	2024-03-04	510 km, 97.5 deg

Last modified: 2025-12-31