The OSIRIS program — First results and Outlook

Direct optical downlinks from small LEO spacecraft to Earth have the potential to solve the increasing demands for higher data rates due to increased mission requirements. The Institute of Communications and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has been working since more than 10 years on the development and demonstration of highly compact and lightweight experimental terminals to enable optical communications for small LEO spacecraft. In the framework of the OSIRIS program (Optical Space Infrared Downlink System), the optical communication payload for DLR's BiROS satellite has been developed. Launched in 2016, BiROS and OSIRIS will demonstrate their performance in a measurement campaign in 2017. This paper will give an overview over the program OSIRIS and the development roadmap.