November 20, 2014 - Farzana Khatri

The Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration: a Successful First Step for Deep-Space Lasercom Systems

 

Radio waves have been the standard method for deep-space communications since the Apollo Mission. However, the recent success of the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD) program will clearly revolutionize the way data is sent and received from deep space. LLCD demonstrated record-breaking optical up/downlinks between Earth and the Lunar Lasercom Space Terminal (LLST) payload on NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere Environment Explorer (LADEE) satellite orbiting the Moon.  The system included the development of a novel space terminal, a novel ground terminal, two major upgrades of existing ground terminals, and a capable and flexible ground operations infrastructure. This talk will give an overview of the system architecture and the several terminals, basic operations of both the link and the whole system, and some typical results focusing on operations.

This work is sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Air Force Contract #FA8721-05-C-0002. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the United States Government.

 

MEETING SPONSORED BY

Farzana Khatri, MIT Lincoln Laboratory

 

Farzana Khatri has been a Technical Staff Member in the Optical Communication Technology group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, MA since 2002.  Most recently, she was a key player in the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) project, a first-of-its-kind, record-breaking Moon to Earth free space laser communication system demo. Her roles in the LLCD project have included system engineering, test bed design, system /subsystem /spacecraft I&T, and operations. Before coming to Lincoln, Farzana worked at AT&T/Tyco Submarine Systems on long-haul undersea fiber optic systems as well as at Sycamore Networks on long-haul terrestrial fiber optic systems.  She received the S.B., S.M., and Ph.D. degrees from MIT in 1990, 1992, and 1996 where her doctoral thesis was on optical soliton communications systems under Professor Hermann A. Haus.

 

Reservations:

Pre-registration discount DINNER reservations must be made by 6 PM, November 17, 2014,the Monday before the meeting. Full-price reservation accepted thereafter. Walk-ins welcome at full-price. MEETING-ONLY registrations appreciated by November 19, 2014

Please make reservations online. Reservations may also be left on the answering machine at 617.584.0266. We no longer have an email address for reservations due to SPAM. When making reservation requests, please provide the following information:

  • DINNER AND MEETING or meeting only
  • Name(s) and membership status
  • Daytime phone number where you can be reached (in case of change or cancellation)

Location:

Rebeccas Cafe (Located in back of the office complex)
275 Grove Street
Auburndale, MA 02466

(617) 969-3282

(Map to Rebecca's).

Networking—5:45 PM, Dinner—6:45, Meeting—7:30 PM.

Menu:

Vegetarian option available on request

Dinner Prices:

   Register on/before
 DINNER Reservation Date 
 Late Reservations 
 NES/OSA Members and their guests   $25.00 each   $30.00 
 Non-members   $30.00 (See NOTE Below)   $35.00 
 Students   $5.00   $5.00 
 Post-Docs   $15.00   $15.00 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: The NES/OSA has not changed dinner prices in several years but has been facing higher costs. We will maintain the current dinner prices for those reserving dinner on the requested date but still try to accommodate late reservations.

General Information on NES/OSA Meetings

Cancellations and No-shows:

If the meeting must be canceled for any reason, we will try to call you at the phone number you leave with your reservation. Official notice of cancellation will be on our answering machine.

We have to pay for the dinners reserved as of the Tuesday before the meeting, so no-shows eat into our cash reserve. If you will not be able to attend, please let us know as early as possible. Otherwise, no-shows will be billed.

Membership Rates:

Regular members $15.00
Student members free

 

 

 

NOTE: The extra $5.00 of the non-member dinner fee can be used toward membership dues if the nonmember joins and pays dues for the current year at the meeting.