Design of a CO2 laser transceiver package for space-to-space optical communication

This study presents the detailed design of a CO2 laser transceiver package capable of establishing a two way data link between two geostationary satellites (GEO-GEO) or between an Earth observational satellite in low orbit and a geostationary relay satellite (LEO-GEO) with data rates or = 1 Gbit/s at a bit error rate 10 to the minus 6th power. The transceiver package comprises five major subsystems: transmitter, receiver, PAT (point, acquisition, tracking), optics, and mechanical structure. The technical definition of the various subsystems is at the level of components or parts. In addition mathematical models have been developed which are used to evaluate the functional relationships of the various subassemblies, to optimize the design parameters, and to investigate the implications of nonideal performance.