Optical satellite links at DLR

Free-Space Optical Communications have gained increasing attention throughout the last years. It is intended to use optical links in a large number of application scenarios, such as communications or navigation. The Optical Satellite Links department at the German Aerospace Center's Institute of Communications and Navigation looks back to a heritage in free-space optical communication systems research of more than two decades. The researched topics include applications such as optical communications from the satellites to Earth and between satellites, development of optical ground stations, design of optimized adaptive optics systems, quantum key distribution systems, technologies for optical time-transfer and ranging, among others. This paper will give an overview of recent research activities carried out in the Optical Satellite Links department, and will give an outlook to future developments which are planned.