Preliminary results of the Ground/Orbiter Lasercom Demonstration experiment between Table Mountain and the ETS-VI satellite

The Ground/Orbiter Lasercomm Demonstration (GOLD) is an optical communications demonstration between the Japanese engineering test satellite (ETS-VI) and an optical ground transmitting and receiving station at the Table Mountain Facility in Wrightwood, California. Laser transmissions to the satellite are performed approximately four hours every third night when the satellite is at apogee above Table Mountain. The experiment required the coordination of resources at CRL, JPL, NASDA's Tsukuba tracking station and NASA's Deep Space Network at Goldstone, Calif. to generate and transmit real-time commands and receive telemetry from the ETS-VI. Transmissions to the ETS-VI began in November 1995 and are scheduled to last into the middle of January 1996 when the satellite is expected to be eclipsed by the Earth's shadow for a major part of its orbit. The eclipse is expected to last for about two months, and during this period there will be limited electrical power available on board the satellite. NASDA plans to restrict experiments with the ETS-VI satellite during this period, and no laser transmissions are planned. Post-eclipse experiments are currently being negotiated. GOLD is a joint NASA-CRL (Communications Research Laboratory) experiment that is being conducted by JPL in coordination with CRL and NASDA.