Uplink correction demonstrator: test bench and experimental results

The Uplink Wavefront Corrector System (UWCS) has been conceived by following the premises from simulation outcomes as a pathfinder instrument to demonstrate Adaptive Optics uplink correction in both applications: Free-Space Optical Communications and self-propagating path of Laser Guide Stars. Preliminary design and expected performance have been analysed via simulations in previous studies. Current activities focus on the turbulence measurement on the launch axis itself by using pulsed or modulated lasers and a pulse-synchronized Shack-Hartmann as wavefront sensor. Present paper describes the test bench it has been built in the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) to experimentally demonstrate the uplink correction and its advantages.