Optical Communications for the Event Horizon Explorer Mission Concept

The Event Horizon Explorer mission concept extends the existing Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) system to include a space segment which enables significant new science with extended baselines for higher-resolution interferometric imaging. To support this concept, a high rate downlink (256 Gbps) is desired. Recent demonstrations have shown the capability for optical communications to support such downlink rates from space. We discuss the optical communications requirements, architecture, and technology development for such a mission.