NASA’s Record-Breaking Laser Demo Completes Mission

Image of the Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator Mission 3 against a black starry sky. The spacecraft has its solar arrays deployed and is facing Earth in the lower left hand corner.

NASA’s TBIRD (TeraByte InfraRed Delivery) demonstration and its host spacecraft — the PTD-3 (Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3) — have completed their technology demonstration. The TBIRD payload spent the past two years breaking world records for the fastest satellite downlink from space using laser communications. NASA’s PTD series leverages a common commercial spacecraft to provide a robust … Continue reading NASA’s Record-Breaking Laser Demo Completes Mission

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