AbstractWe develop an adaptive power control algorithm to facilitate satellite to ground laser communication through turbulence fading channels. Adaptive control is a powerful tool that improves energetic gain of the satellite laser. We use discrete laser transmitter intensity levels in our control algorithm. A novel recursive technique defines optimal laser transmitting intensity levels so that the laser‐transmitted power is adapted according to instant changes of the signal‐to‐noise ratio caused by channel fading. The algorithm's performance is first investigated in a general form suitable for any channel fading statistics. Then it is specified for a typical lognormal fading channel. The results indicate an improvement of up to 10dB in energetic gain. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.