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[Sound FX]

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Remember these? Laser light
made records obsolete.

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NASA is on the verge of doing
the same thing with space

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based communications.

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♪

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Before the end of the decade,
the Laser Communication Relay

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Demonstration mission will
revolutionize the way we move

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tons of data from orbit to
ground and all around the

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solar system.

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The demand for vast
transmission capability grows

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exponentially. 

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Sensors are gathering more
data than ever; sophisticated

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command and control software
talks more and asks more.

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Conventional radio frequency
transmissions

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can't meet the need.

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That's why engineers at Goddard,
and partners like MIT Lincoln

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Lab, the Jet Propulsion Lab,
and Space Systems Loral are

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working on the next generation 
of high data rate, low mass

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optical systems.

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Their goals are nothing short
of imagining the future and

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bringing it to life.

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Imagine live, high definition
video feeds from far away

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places in the solar system.

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That's the promise of Laser
Comm.

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The beauty of Laser Comm 
is its scalability.

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Missions will see profound
improvements, with speeds

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increasing from 10 to 100
times over today's RF

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transmissions.

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And huge bandwidth
improvements are just

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the beginning.

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Reductions of hardware mass
and power demands will see

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equivalent savings.

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Smaller communications systems
mean more efficient power

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management, and more efficient
power management unlocks a

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wealth of potential engineering 
options for other systems.

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Laser Comm is just one part of
NASA's new initiative to

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commercialize space.

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This particular demonstration
will hitch a ride on a Loral

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communications satellite
in 2017.

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Once on orbit, control of the
Optical Module will be turned

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over to NASA Goddard
for testing.

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Two-way data transmissions
from ground stations at White 

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Sands New Mexico and NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory in

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California will put the system
through its paces.

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But just a few years after a
successful demonstration,

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NASA's own telecommunications
relay system could be replaced

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with the more advanced
hardware.

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Data transmission by laser
light. That's a bright idea.

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And as a means for moving huge
amounts of data efficiently

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and effectively, it's the
communications backbone of

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ambitious plans for the
nation's future in space.

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♪

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Beep