JUNE 25, 2025 – A team of engineers at Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific recently concluded a groundbreaking nanosatellite mission, the Laser Crosslink Experiment (LaCE), which has yielded valuable insights for future warfighter capabilities.
The LaCE team, part of the Space Systems branch, successfully integrated, tested, and operated the 6U nanosatellite mission between March 4, 2024, and May 18, 2025. Adding to the challenge, almost all the hardware and software used in these missions was first-of-a-kind, meaning it had never been flown or tested in space.
“We achieved significant milestones, collecting substantial experimental data and results,” said Sean Stanko, LaCE lead systems engineer.
LaCE was a two-CubeSat mission designed to test various optical and radio payloads in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Key payloads included a laser communication terminal, optical beacon, a payload radio, and a newly-developed NIWC Pacific Tracking, Telemetry, and Command (TT&C) ground operations center. The mission also led to the development of the Stratospheric Optical Link Demonstration (SOLD), a high-altitude balloon experiment that served as a risk reduction and alternate execution path.
LaCE successfully demonstrated various payloads and despite several challenges, NIWC Pacific considers LaCE an operational success, extracting several “best practice” operational lessons, according to Stanko.
“The value of stratospheric pre-launch test campaigns cannot be overstated,” he said.
Other key lessons included the value of satellite telecom radios as backup systems and the importance of precision Pointing, Navigation, and Timing solutions for optical communications on orbit.
One of the mission’s key achievements was the first on-orbit demonstration of this specific optical beacon package, which allows for easier identification and tracking of spacecraft. The team also gathered valuable data on satellite communication performance in LEO, finding it to be a reliable backup communication channel, according to Stanko. The NIWC Pacific-developed TT&C ground station’s high degree of automation also allowed for efficient data uplinks and downlinks.
LaCE-1 was operated through re-entry and performed a secondary vLEO profiling mission. NIWC Pacific maintained contact with LaCE through its final hours on orbit and achieved successful line-of-sight communications below 200km. Building on their presentation at last year’s Small Satellite Conference, where they shared the mission’s development, the LaCE team was selected to present their project findings at this year’s annual Small Satellite conference, showcasing results and discoveries made possible by the mission.