CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS
VOL. 46, 2015
A publication of
The Italian Association
of Chemical Engineering
Online at www.aidic.it/cet
Guest Editors:
Peiyu Ren, Yancan
Li, Huipin
Son
Copyright © 2015, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.,
ISBN 978-88-95608-37-2; ISSN 2283-9216
Overview of Research on Space Laser Communication
Tracking and Pointing Technology
Qinglong Hu*
a,b
, Zhaohui Li
a
, Liang Yang
a
, Ke Qiao
a
, Xuejun Zhang
a
a
Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Changchun 130033, China
b
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
huqinglong.hit@163.com
Laser communication system is built to satisfy the urgent need of information transmission of the earth
observation system and space-based information in high resolution and the need of high-speed transmission
rate of distribution system. Laser communication system makes use of laser frequency band, takes laser as
information carrier and transmits information by the modulation of laser pulse and thus achieves information
exchange. And to achieve information exchange, we must solve the tracking and pointing technical problem
because this is the guarantee condition of successful laser communication and key technology to improving
communication performance. This article firstly introduces the development of space laser communication
technique at home and abroad in recent years and the introduces the research situation of several key
technology in space laser communication tracking and pointing system to provide guidance to the research
on space laser communication system and tracking and pointing technology.
1. Introduction
With the development of informatization construction of military system, demands have increased for high-
speed and high bandwidth satellite communication services, especially that the earth observation system and
space-based information transmission and distribution system have very urgent demand for Gbps high-speed
data transmission. At present, most communication satellites apply microwave frequency band of 300MHz to
30GHz. However, with the development of on-orbit business applications of communication satellites in
various countries, the microwave frequency band available has been very crowded and there is less and less
bandwidth available. Therefore, communication satellites have developed to higher frequency and have
extended from the microwave frequency band to the laser frequency band. Laser communication system is
built to satisfy the urgent need of information transmission of the earth observation system and space-based
information in high resolution and the need of high-speed transmission rate of distribution system. Laser
communication system makes use of laser frequency band, takes laser as information carrier and transmits
information by the modulation of laser pulse and thus achieves information exchange.
Laser has high temporal and spatial correlation, whose oscillation frequency is high. Laser frequency band
(typical wavelength of 1 μm) is four orders of magnitude higher than microwave frequency band (typical 10
GHz), so the space laser communication of satellites have the following advantages compared with microwave
communication.
1.1 Large Message Capacity
The frequency band of laser is three or four orders of magnitude higher than microwave frequency band (the
corresponding frequency band is between 1013 to 1017Hz). Laser, as the carrier wave of communication, has
more available frequency band. Optical fiber communication technique can be transplanted into space
communication. At present, the data rate of every wave beam of optical fiber communication can be 20Gb/s or
higher and we can even make use of the wavelength-division multiplexing technology to increase the
message capacity by dozens of times. Therefore, the laser communication possesses great advantage in
terms of message capacity than microwave communication.
DOI: 10.3303/CET1546170
Please cite this article as: Hu Q.L., Li Z.H., Yang L., Qiao K., Zhang X.J., 2015, Overview of research on space laser communication tracking
and pointing technology, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 46, 1015-1020 DOI:10.3303/CET1546170
