Stationary high-bandwidth experiments with a portable lasercom (laser communication) system were performed over a wide range of scintillation indices (< 0.1 to 1) at the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site in the summer of 2003. Active alignment was performed with a quad-cell tracking detector at the transmitter transponder and a conical-scan tracking beam at the receiver transponder. During good scintillation conditions, 2-km 10-Gb/s and 11-km 2.5-Gb/s capabilities were demonstrated at error-free bit-error rates over continuous intervals on the order of half an hour. The experimental transponder configuration, which had 2.5-cm transmit-side and 8-cm receive-side aperture diameters, is described and test results are presented. Modifications to the stationary beacon-tracking transponder system that support a semi-autonomous (aided-pointing), mobile, lasercom capability are discussed.
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