NASA has launched its new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD).

Why in news?

• NASA’s new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) has recently been launched. It is the agency’s first-ever laser communications system. The LCRD will help the agency test optical communication in space.

About Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)

• LCRD is a technology demonstration that will pave the way for future optical communications missions.
• The LCRD payload is hosted onboard the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program Satellite 6 (STPSat-6).
• It will be in a geosynchronous orbit, over 35,000km above Earth.
• Optical communications systems are smaller in size, weight, and require less power compared with radio instruments.
• A smaller size means more room for science instruments. Less weight means a less expensive launch. Less power means less drain on the spacecraft’s batteries.
• With optical communications supplementing radio, missions will have unparalleled communications capabilities.