Volume 8, Number 6     November/December 2000

Innovation Contributes
to Future Interferometry Mission

Space interferometry is a key technology in NASA's Origins Program for viewing the distant universe. Space interferometers will take the images from two or more separate telescopes and bring them precisely together at a central observation point. Light rays are waves, so through careful alignment, the images either reinforce or null each other, like merging waves on the ocean. Scientists will make use of these phenomena to enhance the image collected by the telescopes, to measure the distance and location of stars, and to null the light of stars to observe nearby objects such as planets.

Combined Fast Steering and Alignment Mirror. Photo provided by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

A number of technology innovations have been required to make the prospect of space interferometry a reality, including one by Left Hand Design Corporation. With NASA Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) support through NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Left Hand Design has constructed a combined fast steering and alignment mirror. These mirrors are able to correct for distortions in the structure of the interferometer as a result of structural distortions during launch and temperature changes, for example. Furthermore, these mirrors can move at high frequencies to offset jitters in the structure that can result from such things as reaction wheels used to maintain the overall alignment of the space interferometer. This capability enables the high degree of precision required for interferometry.

Combined fast steering and alignment mirrors from Left Hand Design have been used in testbeds at JPL to assist in the design of the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) scheduled for launch in 2006. Testbeds are used to establish that the demanding requirements of space interferometry can be met with available technology, and to qualify the hardware for a future space mission. Left Hand Design has sold several of these combined fast steering and alignment mirrors to NASA, the Department of Defense and aerospace companies for similar projects. This technology is also expected to have application in space optical communication systems.

SIM will be able to measure the position and distances of stars several hundred times more accurately than in any previous mission. This information will greatly enhance our understanding of the size and age of our universe. SIM will also be used to probe nearby stars for planets similar in size to Earth. Technology innovations through NASA's SBIR Program are helping to make this possible.

For more information, contact Byron Jackson at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Call: 818/354-1246, E-mail: Byron.L.Jackson@jpl.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

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