(Update: Launched) NASA's tissue-box-sized satellite to demo fastest laser links from space

NASA's Terabyte Infrared Delivery (TBIRD) system will be launching tomorrow, May 25, 2022, to the low-Earth-orbit to showcase the unprecedented communications capabilities of lasers. It will be a hosted payload on the Pathfinder Technology Demonstration (PTD) 3 spacecraft, which will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The launch window for the mission will open tomorrow at 2:25 p.m. ET.

TBIRD, @NASA’s TeraByte InfraRed Delivery system, is launching tomorrow! 🚀TBIRD will demonstrate a laser communications downlink at 200 gigabits per second – the highest optical downlink a @NASALaserComm mission has ever achieved!https://t.co/NHkB2Uesmo pic.twitter.com/NTsFDshIpe

— NASA Space Communications and Navigation (@NASASCaN) May 24, 2022

The tissue-box-sized CubeSat will demonstrate a direct-to-Earth laser communications link at 200 gigabits per second (Gbps) - the highest data rate ever achieved by a NASA optical communications terminal.

Laser communication uses infrared light rather than radio waves to transmit and receive data at significantly higher rates higher data rates. Additionally, laser systems provide decreased size, weight, and power requirements, making them ideal for space missions.

TBIRD will follow in the footsteps of NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), the agency's first-ever laser communications relay system, and further the advancement of laser or optical communications. The miniaturized satellite will transmit pre-loaded data - images and numbers - from low-Earth-orbit to a ground station on Earth, proving that big accomplishments can come from small satellites.

"As future science instruments and imaging systems incorporate the latest technology advancements, they’ll return very large volumes of data on a daily basis. These missions will need the downlink capabilities that laser communications can provide," said Jason Mitchell, Director of the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technology division within NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program.

The TBIRD payload is a joint partnership between NASA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory (MIT-LL) in Boston and SpaceX.

Update

Following its launch on Wednesday, the TBIRD payload has successfully entered low-Earth orbit.

Today, @NASASCaN’s TBIRD payload entered low-Earth orbit! TBIRD will achieve NASA’s highest optical link at 200 gigabits per second. Check out this article to learn more about this @NASA_Technology laser comm payload: https://t.co/W36pI6gBX3 pic.twitter.com/vy0tEhDjmZ

— NASA Laser Communications (@NASALaserComm) May 25, 2022