Joint NRL/NELC Optical-Satellite-Communication Atmospheric-Propagation Test Plan,
Abstract
An experimental program has been planned to test the hypothesis that optical communication systems based on the heterodyne principle can be used for practical Navy ship/satellite communications through clouds of moderate thickness. The Island of Hawaii has been chosen as the site of a major field effort by NRL and NELC because the trade winds drive typical marine orographic clouds through an elevated mountain pass reproducibly on a daily basis, the mountain pass is accessible by road, and (as is summarized herein) the clouds there have already been well studied. A theoretical formulation based on radiation transport theory shows that the reliability of an optical heterodyne communication system can be expressed as a function of the cloud properties. The experiments will test the relationship between a system carrier-to-noise ratio (C/N) and cloud properties. They will establish the averaging times necessary for a meaningful C/N, determine the relationship between C/N and the optical-thickness and droplet-size parameters of the cloud, relate reproduction of clear-path C/N values, averaged mean-square wavefront tilt received, and optical turbulence, and measure the reduction of C/N in a cloud as the receiver (or transmitter) is pointed off-axis (thus examining the security of a system).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA009736
Entities
People
- G. L. Trusty
- G. Mooradian
- L. H. Ruhnke
- P. M. Livingston
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory