NASA's laser communications system to launch on November 9
SpaceX and NASA have pushed the launch of their CRS-29 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to November 9. CRS-29 marks SpaceX's 29th commercial resupply services mission for NASA, and will deliver about 2,950kg of provisions and scientific equipment to the space station. A key highlight among the payloads is a two-way laser array that will test high-speed communications in low Earth orbit as NASA aims to ramp up its communication capabilities ahead of the upcoming Artemis Moon missions.
How the laser communication experiment works
The laser communication payload that the CRS-29 mission will be taking is called ILLUMA-T. ILLUMA-T will transmit data through the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) satellite, in the geosynchronous orbit, which will beam that data to optical ground stations in Hawaii and California, reports Space.com. Laser communications uses invisible infrared light to send and receive information at higher data rates, allowing more data to be sent back to Earth in a single transmission and expediting discoveries for researchers, notes NASA.
The scientific gear will be ferried aboard SpaceX Dragon spacecraft
The suppies will be sent to the ISS aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. Other notable payloads include a NASA experiment aimed at examining disturbances in Earth's atmosphere, and a European Space Agency (ESA) investigation that could enhance water recovery in the space lab. Dragon is one of three robotic spacecraft currently ferrying cargo to the ISS, the other two being Northrop Grumman's Cygnus and Russia's Progress spacecraft. However, Dragon is the only one capable of returning equipment from ISS to Earth.
Dragon is scheduled to reach ISS on November 11
Initially slated for November 5, the CRS-29 mission was first pushed back to November 7 to provide additional time for prelaunch preparations. The most recent two-day delay, caused due to an issue with one of Dragon's thrusters, will allow for the "completion of final prelaunch closeout ahead of liftoff," said NASA. Per the updated plan, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Dragon at 8:28pm EST on November 9 (5:58am IST, November 10) and reach the ISS on November 11.
