On-orbit beam pointing calibration for nanosatellite laser communications
Author(s)
Cierny, Ondrej
Cahoy, Kerri
Date Issued
November 2018
Journal
Optical Engineering
Publisher
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
Citation
Čierny, Ondrej and Kerri L. Cahoy. "On-orbit beam pointing calibration for nanosatellite laser communications." Optical Engineering 58, 4 (November 2018): 041605 © 2018 The Authors
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI. We describe techniques developed to optimize beam pointing control for a CubeSat laser downlink demonstration mission being developed at the MIT Space Telecommunications, Astronomy, and Radiation Laboratory. To fine-point its downlink beam, the mission utilizes an uplink beacon signal at 976 nm captured by an on-board ±5-deg field-of-view detector and tracked by a 3.6-mm commercial, off-the-shelf MEMS fast steering mirror. As these miniature actuators lack feedback sensors, the system design is augmented with an optical calibration signal to provide the mirror's pointing feedback. We describe the system and introduce calibration algorithms utilizing the feedback signal to achieve higher fidelity beam pointing control. A demonstration in the laboratory is conducted to obtain a quantitative performance analysis using quasi-flight hardware with simulated spacecraft body pointing disturbances. Experimental results show that beacon tracking errors of only 16 μrad root-mean-square are feasible for both axes, significantly exceeding the mission pointing requirement of 0.65 mrad and indicating the feasibility of narrower beams and higher data throughputs for next-generation downlink demonstration missions.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 unported license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1117/1.oe.58.4.041605
