To date, many of the laser satellite communications downlink demonstrations have occurred at optical ground station (OGS) sites located at astronomical observatories, which are typically chosen for their favorable atmospheric characteristics including low turbulence. In this study, we investigate the effects of atmospheric turbulence on laser satellite communications performance for a low altitude ground site, where the effects of the turbulence can be more significant. In particular, we consider a site near sea level in Adelaide, South Australia where we are developing an OGS with adaptive optics (AO). A combination of experimental site turbulence measurements and numerical propagation modeling is used to undertake the investigation.

Chapter Contents:

• 36.1 Introduction
• 36.1.1 Atmospheric scintillation
• 36.1.2 Atmospheric coherence length
• 36.2 Optical turbulence measurements
• 36.2.1 Boundary layer C2 n measurements
• 36.2.2 Estimated atmospheric coherence length
• 36.3 Adaptive optics simulations
• 36.4 Numerical propagation modeling
• 36.4.1 Numerical phase screen model
• 36.4.2 PS simulation results
• 36.5 Conclusion
• References

Inspec keywords: numerical analysis; atmospheric turbulence; adaptive optics; optical communication; light propagation; satellite ground stations

Other keywords: South Australia; experimental site turbulence measurements; laser satellite communications performance; laser satellite communications downlink; OGS; Adelaide; adaptive optics ground station performance; AO; astronomical observatories; atmospheric turbulence characteristics; low altitude ground site; numerical propagation modeling

Subjects: Optical communication; Satellite communication systems; Light propagation; Other numerical methods