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Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 3)
The objective of the Omnidirectional Inter-Satellite Optical Communicator (ISOC) project is to design a compact, lightweight, and energy efficient omnidirectional inter-satellite laser comm system for cross linking between spacecraft. The ISOC uses a dodecahedron geometric array of chip scale, MEMS-based gimbal-less scanning mirrors that provide adjustable beam pointing and spherical field of view coverage for uninterrupted data transmission between several small spacecraft at arbitrary relative positions.
Low cost optical cross links can be used in nanosatellite missions that involve constellations or swarms needing to transfer high data rates from node to node or from daughter-spacecraft to mother-spacecraft. This technology could help enable constellations of nanosatellites to network with one another for heliophysical or Earth observations.
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