LINCS

LINCS
LINCS
LINCS
Satellite LINCS
Type CubeSat
Units or mass 12U
Organisation Space Development Agency
Institution Military
Entity type Government (Civil / Military)
Country US
Manufacturer AIVT by General Atomics
Operator General Atomics
Oneliner

Optical communications terminals that use lasers to beam data across space.

Description

Optical communications terminals that use lasers to beam data across space will be tested in upcoming experiments by the Space Development Agency and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

These terminals are important pieces of DoD’s future low Earth orbit constellations which will require satellite-to-satellite optical crosslinks so data collected in space can be immediately sent to military command centers on the ground. Laser communications systems have much faster data transmission rates than radio-based systems but DoD has concerns such as the effects of space radiation on optical terminals and whether the electronics can withstand the stress of space launch.

Results

SDA said in a statement Feb. 4 that there were “challenges communicating with the LINCS sats.

Sources [1] [2] [3] [4]
Photo sources [1]
Keywords Laser transmitter

Related Spacecraft

Satellite Status Launcher Launch date Orbit
LINCS1 A (Laser Interconnet & Communications System) No signal? (SpaceNews article on 2022-02-06, but mixed messages about whether some contact was initially established) Falcon 9, (Transporter-2) 2021-06-30 525 km, 97.5 deg
LINCS2 B (Laser Interconnet & Communications System) No signal? (SpaceNews article on 2022-02-06, but mixed messages about whether some contact was initially established) Falcon 9, (Transporter-2) 2021-06-30 525 km, 97.5 deg

Last modified: 2023-06-09

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Created by Erik Kulu

Email: erik.kulu@nanosats.eu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erikkulu

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