After a month-long transit to the Moon and a 40-day spacecraft checkout, the laser communications experiments were performed over three months during late 2013 and early 2014.[16] Initial data returned from the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) equipment on LADEE set a space communication bandwidth record in October 2013 when early tests using a pulsed laser beam to transmit data over the 385,000 km (239,000 mi) between the Moon and Earth passed data at a "record-breaking download rate of 622 megabits per second (Mbps)",[17] and also demonstrated an error-free data upload rate of 20 Mbit/s from an Earth ground station to LADEE in Lunar orbit. The LLCD is NASA's first attempt at two-way space communication using an optical laser instead of radio waves, and is expected to lead to operational laser systems on NASA satellites in future years.[17]