Pointing, Acquisition, and Tracking

The Pointing, Acquisition, and Tracking sequence is an essential part of the PULSE-A mission. Since optical communications are directional, precise pointing of both the Payload and Optical Ground Station lasers is required.

The PAT sequence begins with the establishment of RF communications between the Payload and Ground Station and an initial coarse pointing step, before establishing a feedback loop to maintain pointing.

The following diagram details the role and action of each component involved in PAT, with each component given row on the diagram and the sequence proceeding from left to right.