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You and I are living
in a very special time.

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The age of solar
system discovery.

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Our solar system is a
complex masterpiece.

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A work of art of which
we knew so little

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from our ground-based
observations.

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But within the span
of a single lifetime,

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NASA has spent space craft to
every planet and several moons

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within our solar system.

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Our first eyes to set upon
completely undiscovered lands.

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Before we endeavored on this
journey, everything we knew

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about Pluto could have
fit on a single file card.

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And now we down link
new data every day.

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We first televised picture of
our Earth from space in 1960.

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Soon after, we were celebrating
our first American orbits

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around the planet,
venturing outside

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to learn to walk in space.

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Pushing even further to reach
our moon all transmitted right

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into our living rooms.

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Watching our Earth rise up
over the moon's horizon.

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We learned to coexist
peacefully with each other

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in space while also
taking the time to revel

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in the simple joy of it all.

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Look at how far we have
come in our short history

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of space exploration, all
within a single lifetime,

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all broadcast right
to our homes.

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We've journeyed to the
very center of our system

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to observe solar flares peeling
off the sun in three-dimensions.

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We watched sunsets from Mars.

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We monitor storms even larger

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than the Earth itself
on Jupiter.

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We gaze at the wandering
rings of Saturn.

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We ponder the vast unknown as
Voyager 1 crosses the heliopause

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and enters interstellar
space after 35 years

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over 11.5 billion
miles from home.

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By reaching for these
new heights,

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we have revealed unknowns we
didn't even know to search

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for because we were looking

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at data no one has seen
before taken from regions

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where no one has been before.

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Space offers the
ultimate perspective.

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It is in our nature to explore.

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And the reward for exploration
is enhanced scientific

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and technical knowledge
to improve life

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for everyone here on Earth.

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Space communications
is our conduit

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for bringing this valuable
knowledge to the ground.

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It is our portal to evolve

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into a more enlightened
and healthy people.

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To improve our every day
lives by providing us

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with information, we need

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to make the correct
decisions about our planet.

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What we learn from space tells
us more about our own world

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and more importantly, what
it has in store for us

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in the future, so we
may respond accordingly.

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If the last couple centuries
focused on transporting energy

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and people, then this century
is about moving information,

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big data, sharing our hard
earned knowledge between us.

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Communication technology is the
unsung hero in delivering all

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of this information
to its destinations.

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NASA currently communicates with
over 100 spacecraft resulting

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in a down pour of data back
to Earth spanning everything

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from remote sensing,
disaster mitigation,

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interplanetary exploration,
and space weather forecasting.

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The space communications
and navigation program

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or SCAN operates a system of
terminals around the world

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to communicate with
the spacecraft

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and provide navigational
assistance.

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For missions requiring a
high degree of connectivity,

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SCAN utilizes a constellation

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of relay satellites
called the tracking

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and data relay satellite
system or TDRSS,

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which form a communications
ring around the planet and acts

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as an intermediate
connection node to the ground.

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The largest customer for TDRSS
is the International Space

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Station where it is
imperative to remain in contact

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with the astronauts and
cosmonauts on board.

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Interplanetary missions utilize
SCAN's deep space network

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or DSN.

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The DSN is a series of three
ground terminals featuring the

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very largest of NASA
antennas to reach out far

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out into the solar
system and beyond.

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The navigational assistance
provided by the DSN is so good,

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we can place multiple
spacecraft within proximity

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of each other during
critical events

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such as the Mars
Science Laboratory Entry,

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Descent, and Landing.

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This event was observed
by orbiting spacecraft

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and transmitted back

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to the Earth once the
rover was on the surface.

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The orbiters continue
to monitor the progress

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of the rover from high above.

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And together they form
a communications network

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of their own at Mars to work
signals back towards Earth.

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Despite all of our advances, we
actually need to do much better.

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It can take days, even weeks
to transmit images back

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to Earth due to limitations

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in the radiofrequency
communication systems.

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Currently, we're leaving
up to 95% of the data

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on our spacecraft
never to be recovered.

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The most important reason we
explore information is being

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limited by the communication
technologies we use today,

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how our universe is dynamic,
and one has to wonder,

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what are we leaving
on the table?

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What is the data
between the images?

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What are we missing?

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How can we get there?

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The current renaissance of laser
communication technologies can

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offer data rates 100 times
faster at a fraction of the mass

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when compared with
existing radiofrequency

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communication systems.

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By encoding information
onto a laser beam

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and transmitting
it back to Earth

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with a small telescope
instead of an antenna.

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This technology was
recently demonstrated

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with the lunar laser
communications demonstration

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where a spacecraft orbiting the
moon acquired a laser signal

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from Earth and received data
at 20 megabits per second.

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The spacecraft was then
able to transmit at a rate

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of 622 megabits per second
to an optical ground terminal

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on Earth, which was
six times faster

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at 25% less mass
than the RF system.

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Through the laser, we sent
an image of the Mona Lisa

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to the moon and returned it
back to the Earth error-free.

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At these rates, over 30 channels

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of high definition video may
be streamed simultaneously.

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And the current laser
communication systems

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under development promise
an even further increase

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in performance.

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The next step is to
evolve laser communications

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into an operational
system for missions to use.

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And the Glenn Research
Center's integrated radio

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and optical communications
project

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or IROC aims to do exactly that.

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IROC combines the robustness

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of the existing radiofrequency
network with the speed offered

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by developing laser technologies
into a single package

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to breakthrough today's
science data bottle neck

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and communicating with Earth.

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IROC's combination
of operational

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and emergent technologies
is analogous

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to the American combined
steam sail ships

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when boilers were first
being developed in the 1800s.

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At the front of the IROC
system is a combination

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of a radiofrequency antenna

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and an optical telescope
called a tele-tenna.

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You are looking at a
prototype tele-tenna

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for laboratory testing,
which aligns the laser beam

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down the center of
the RF pattern.

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The flight model for the
tele-tenna will be manufactured

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out of a very lightweight
material including gold plated

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molybdenum mesh from Northrop
Grumman Astro for the RF signal

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and composite optics developed
by Vanguard Space Technologies

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and NASA GRC for the laser beam.

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The full size of the completed
tele-tenna will span three

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meters in diameter and
attach to a compact,

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lightweight vibration isolation
platform being manufactured

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by Applied Technology
Associates.

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They're a small business
innovation research program.

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As anyone who has
given a presentation

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with a laser pointer
can tell you,

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aiming the beam very
accurately can be challenging.

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And this is especially true
for space layer communications.

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Over large distances, the
communication beam spreads

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to about the size of
Texas, which may seem large,

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but from Mars, this
is essentially trying

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to aim a point onto a point.

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Precise pointing

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of the tele-tenna requires
new technology development.

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And NASA GRC is working with
the Optical Physics Corporation

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to improve the accuracy of
small, lightweight star trackers

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to accomplish this challenge.

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The basic concept of star
tracking has been used

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since the beginning of
maritime navigation and adapted

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with modern optics
and electronics

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for increased fidelity in space.

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An IROC equipped craft
first acquires images

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of star fields using
improved hardware

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and then fuses them
together to form patterns.

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The resulting patterns
are combined

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with an onboard star
tracker catalog database

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to determine exactly where
the spacecraft is pointed

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and more importantly where
this communication's beam needs

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to be projected to
intercept Earth.

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Precise pointing actuation

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of the communications
payload is accomplished

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through a mechanical system
developed by Balcones Technology

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through an SBIR and small
fine pointing mirrors.

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Spacecraft data is
placed onto the laser beam

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in a process called
modulation, which is performed

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by IROC's optical software
defined radio or SDR.

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The SDR has heritage from
GRC's SCAN test bed project,

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which is currently
flying on the ISS.

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The SDR team is developing
the optical functionality

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to support varying
mission parameters,

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to prototype a digital
radio capable

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of software reconfiguration
based

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on a Harris Corporation platform
to evolve during the mission

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as new technology and
requirements are developed.

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The output of the optical
SDR places the data

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onto the laser beam,
which transmits the signal

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across the laboratory
to be evaluated

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for beam quality
and data integrity.

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IROC is helping to transition
NASA from having a series

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of individual point-to-point
communication links

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to realizing a solar system
intranet through the advancement

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of network protocols tolerant
to the delay, disruptions

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and disconnections inherent
in space communications.

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These protocols are being
prototyped in the laboratory

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and evaluated to optimize
parameters such as efficiency,

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reliability, security, quality
of service, and interoperability

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with our space faring partners.

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Data traffic is generated
by an instrumented robot

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in the laboratory and sent

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across the prototype IROC
communications system using

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orbital predicted connections

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to evaluate the delay tolerant
networking protocol's ability

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to successfully route
the information

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to the ground terminals
in an efficient manner.

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A version of DTN is now deployed
on the ISS and will continue

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to be utilized for most
all future missions.

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Over 93% of the nation witnessed
Neil Armstrong place our first

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steps upon the moon
as down linked

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through the Australian
tracking station.

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And then we left.

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[ Audio from Video ]

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Whether you were in the control
room back then pioneering

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through both tragedy or
triumph or working a console

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within space operations
today or watching the display

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at home waiting for the signal,
the experience is the same.

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Nothing changes.

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Watching, waiting for
the telemetry to arrive

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to to us the system is
OK, allowing us one more

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to experience the unknown.

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It is our charge to put

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into place unbridled
communications technologies

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which will enable
all of us to share

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in the first human
presence on Mars.

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Join us on our next journey
through the solar system.

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We have an opportunity to
learn so much more to continue

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to improve our lives here on
Earth and lay the foundation

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for the next generation
of discoveries.

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I would like to recognize
the NASA communication teams,

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industrial and academic
partners who strive

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to make this all
possible and emphasize

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that it takes all kinds
of people to pull it off

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from engineers, scientists,
mathematicians, technicians,

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operators, resource analysts,
managers, facilities, safety,

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legal, and of course outreach