A Plan for the Development and Demonstration of Optical Communications for Deep Space

In this article, an overall plan for the development and demonstration of optical communications for deep-space applications is presented. The current state of the technology for optical communications is presented. Then, the development and demonstration plan is presented in two parts: the overall major systems activities, followed by the generic technology developments that will enable them. The plan covers the path from laboratory subsystems demonstrations out to a full-scale flight experiment system for the proposed Mars Communications Relay Orbiter mission.