NASA to Demonstrate Laser Communications from Space Station

In 2023, NASA is sending a technology demonstration known as the Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) to the space station. Together, ILLUMA-T and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which launched in 2021, will complete NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system.