NASA | LLCD: Proving Laser Communication Possible

On October 18th, 2013 the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) made history, transmitting data from lunar orbit to Earth at a rate of 622 Mbps. LLCD, flying aboard NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), is the first NASA mission dedicated to proving high-rate, two-way laser communications is possible. LLCD not only demonstrated a record-breaking download rate but also an error-free data upload rate of 20 Mbps. The laser beam was transmitted the 239,000 miles from the primar