Listen to this audio excerpt from Peter Rossoni, Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System Flight Manager:
As a child, Peter Rossoni watched the launch of the Apollo missions with his family. In April 2026, he became part of NASA’s Artemis II mission, helping enable communications during the astronauts’ journey around the Moon.
Rossoni’s path to NASA began when he followed his parents’ footsteps into science. That base eventually led him to laser communications and NASA’s Artemis II test flight.
Today, Rossoni is the flight manager for the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. During Artemis II, he oversaw the first use of laser communications on a crewed deep space mission.
The optical terminal flew aboard the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reed Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Through the system, laser communications links transmitted video, photos, engineering and science data, flight procedures, and crew communications from the vicinity of the Moon to Earth. In total, the terminal transferred more than 450 gigabytes of data to Earth. This is equivalent to approximately 100 high-definition movies.
During the nearly 10-day mission, Rossoni joined the mission control team to ensure smooth data flow from the laser communications terminal on Orion to the mission control center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“Communications is a critical pillar of exploration. We’re going into deep space for long periods of time, and we need that critical link at home. Laser communications was proven to work in previous experiments, so the demonstration phase is over. Artemis II showed us what it can do operationally.”
peter rossoni
Flight Manager for the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System
Laser communication systems use invisible infrared light to pack more data into a single transmission. With downlink speeds of up to 260 megabits per second, the optical communications system was capable of transmitting a full-length 4K movie from the Moon to Earth in approximately one minute.
“In addition to supporting a crewed mission around the Moon, I am excited to work with an amazing team of talented engineers and visionaries who understand that high-performance communications and networking is a key element of the exploration infrastructure.”
Merging the existing infrastructure with the next generation system was no easy feat. While the system’s laser communications path operates in parallel to conventional radio communications, both are connected to the Mission Control Center and the same network on Orion. The team developed solutions that would allow the systems to work together at higher rates than can be provided by laser communication.
To prepare for liftoff, Rossoni and the optical flight and ground teams supported extensive test activities, including practice runs simulating team and facility operations, operational readiness reviews validating the system’s terminal and ground segments, and assuring teams would work together smoothly for the mission. The result was a communications system with 100 times more capacity, which enhanced the connection between astronauts and their support teams, while freeing up radio communications systems for sensitive and critical data streams.
“A respected Goddard scientist once said, ‘Communications are the secret behind all NASA missions. For Artemis II in particular, with the mission and safety of the astronauts at stake, it was critical to have strong communications to enhance successful exploration and address any incidents in the demanding environment of deep space. When the Orion Artemis II optical communications system began operating, I felt a deep sense of accomplishment, and as the mission progressed, more and more objectives were achieved. “Done.”
peter rossoni
Flight Manager for the Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System
