The Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) will be sent to the orbiting outpost along with a variety of other scientific experiments and supplies when the 29th SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launches later this year, currently scheduled for November 1. In order to complete the first end-to-end, two-way laser relay system created by NASA, ILLUMA-T will collaborate with the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), which was launched to geosynchronous orbit in December 2021 on board an Atlas V 551.“Laser communications offer missions more flexibility and an expedited way to get data back from space,” said Badri Younes, who is the former deputy associate administrator for NASA’s Space.