Preliminary assessement of the atmospheric optical channel at goldstone (CA)

Abstract

A number of criteria need to be considered for site selection of a deep space optical link receiver station. Some of the factors used to identify suitable locations include whether site conditions are favorable in the atmospheric optical channel, geographical convenience of the location, and (possible) existing facilities (e.g. roads, power, communication networks etc.). Recently, NASA/JPL has been conducting studies to evaluate whether the NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) Goldstone, California site is a viable candidate location for an optical deep space communications downlink station. Some reasons in considering Goldstone are quite evident: 1) the existing facilities would ease the integration of an optical ground station into the DSN; 2) it is conveniently near a NASA center (Jet Propulsion Laboratory or JPL); and 3) it is located in a desert region with possible high Cloud Free Line of Sight (CFLOS) statistics. Evaluating location suitability requires characterization of the atmospheric optical channel of the site, namely atmospheric loss and clear sky turbulence statistics. A suite of sensors has been installed at Goldstone to collect the necessary data to produce these statistics. The instruments include a sun-photometer, seeing monitor, and a dust particle profiler. This work presents initial results based on the data gathered at Goldstone to provide a preliminary assessment of the atmospheric optical channel and its implication on the data throughput for a hypothetical optical deep space mission.