Laser Space Communications

This groundbreaking resource is the first book to offer you a thorough, practical treatment of laser space communications. The book focuses on the feasibility of laser space communication links between satellites, satellites and airborne platforms, and satellites and ground based stations to achieve worldwide connectivity. You get expert guidance on weather avoidance approaches and adaptive antenna subsystems that help mitigate the effects of turbulence. The book presents simplified, yet highly accurate, engineering expressions of complex mathematics of turbulence that provide you with numerical values in the links' signal power budget. Moreover, you find an entire chapter devoted to noise photons and their effect on the bit error rate. This comprehensive volume covers a wide range of critical topics you need to understand for your work in the field, from a discussion on laser vs. RF communications in space, basic design features of a laser transceiver, and configuration of inter-satellite communication links, to selection of ground station locations, 5th Generation Internet (5-GENIN), and signal modulation schemes. The book is supported with over 70 illustrations and more than 100 equations.

A concise volume exploring the basic fundamentals of modern laser communication systems, this book provides comprehensive information from a system designer's point of view. The book provides a thorough review of history, architectures, design methodologies, optical design guidelines, and tracking and communication processes. It explains exactly how to design a laser communication system and its potential applications.

This is a comprehensive tutorial on the emerging technology of free-space laser communications (FSLC). The book offers an all-inclusive source of information on the basics of FSLC, and a review of state-of-the-art technologies. Coverage includes atmospheric effects for laser propagation and FSLC systems performance and design. Free-Space Laser Communications is a valuable resource for engineers, scientists and students interested in laser communication systems designed for the atmospheric optical channel.

This introduction to the next generation of human telecommunications enterprise examines the development of laser satellite communications and describes its advantages over previous technologies. It looks at the development of the technology and the industry through wired and wireless media and presents the vision, promise, and challenges of free-space lasers. The book balances its focused consideration of the telecommunications industry and markets with practical thoughts on creating a business involved in the introduction of commercial laser satellite communications systems. Scholars, investors, venture capitalists, policy makers, and corporate leaders will find this to be a comprehensive and eye-opening bridge between the existing telecommunications industry and the opportunities of the next generation. The opening chapters introduce the concepts of Migration, Specialization, and Interconnectivity as solutions inherent in third generation laser-satellite communications. The high capacity of the optical spectrum invites migration of applications beyond the narrow RF spectra to the high frequencies of free-space laser beams. Migration stimulates specialization of voice and duplex at the lower, optimal RF spectra. The third generation—laser-wired space—focuses around global satellite interconnectivity between fiber optics and RF. The final chapters introduce a model business concept to pioneer the third generation. Several approaches to capitalization, organization, technology development, and business strategies provide an exciting stimulus for pragmatic approaches to commercial concepts.

This reference provides an overview of near-Earth laser communication theory developments including component and subsystem technologies, fundamental limitations, and approaches to reach those limits. It covers basic concepts and state-of-the-art technologies, emphasizing device technology, implementation techniques, and system trades. The authors discuss hardware technologies and their applications, and also explore ongoing research activities and those planned for the near future. This new edition includes major to minor revisions with technology updates on nearly all chapters.

Invented more than a hundred years ago by Alexander Graham Bell, the technology of free-space optical communications, or lasercom, has finally reached the level of maturity required to meet a growing demand for operational multi-giga-bit-per-second data rate systems communicating to and from aircrafts and satellites. Putting the emphasis on near-earth links, including air, LEO, MEO, and GEO orbits, Near-Earth Laser Communications presents a summary of important free-space laser communication subsystem challenges and discusses potential ways to overcome them. This comprehensive reference provides up-to-date information on component and subsystem technologies, fundamental limitations, and approaches to reach those limits. It covers basic concepts and state-of-the-art technologies, emphasizing device technology, implementation techniques, and system trades. The authors discuss hardware technologies and their applications, and also explore ongoing research activities and those planned for the near future. The analytical aspects of laser communication have been covered to a great extent in several books. However, a detailed approach to system design and development, including trades on subsystem choices and implications of the hardware selection for satellite and aircraft telecommunications, is missing. Highlighting key design variations and critical differences between them, this book distills decades’ worth of experience into a practical resource on hardware technologies.