Development of “HICALI”: high speed optical feeder link system between GEO and ground

In National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of JAPAN, an ultra high speed optical satellite communication equipment onboard the engineering test satellite IX has been developing. The satellite is planned to be launched to geosynchronous orbit in 2021. In this project, we are aiming for ultra high-speed data transmission at the world's highest level of 10 [Gbps] for both uplink and downlink between optical ground stations and geosynchronous satellite. This paper outlines the optical communication mission, the scheduled optical communication experiment, the examination of HICALI and the ground based system at the present time - the outline of the development situation is also explained.