<title>Performance test result of LUCE (laser utilizing communications equipment) engineering model</title>

NASDA (National Space Development Agency of Japan) have developed (OICETS (Optical Inter-Orbit Communications Engineering Test Satellite) since 1993 in order to get the acquisition, tracking and pointing technology for optical inter-satellite communications through the in-orbit experiment with ARTEMIS (Advanced Relay and TEchnology Mission Satellite) of European Space Agency. The engineering model of the optical terminal called LUCE (Laser Utilizing Communications Equipment) was tested and its optical performance was evaluated during the thermal vacuum test. The on-axis intensity transmitted from the terminal was about 560 MW/Sr with 90 mW of the averaged semiconductor laser output. The full width of the far field pattern of the emitted beam at the point of 1/e² was about 9.4 (mu) radian.