The Sodium LGS Brightness Model over the SOR

A relatively simple formulation is developed for predicting the brightness of a sodium laser guidestar over the Starflre Optical Range (Longitude = 106 ‐ W, Latitude = +35 N) taking into account the power and polarization of our 50 W fasor (frequency-addition source of optical radiation), atmospheric extinction, distance to the mesosphere, time of year, and the Earth’s magnetic fleld. The formulation is extended to Maui (Lon = 156 ‐ W, Lat = +21 ‐ N).