LED Coupler

Time period

Mid 1999 to Early 2000

Project description

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) coupler is used as a light source for calibration while in orbit. It needed to be coupled into a fiber optic cable. The system needed to be small so that it could easily fit into the existing GLAS electronics box design.

A standard LED was optically coupled through a focusing lens into a fiber optic cable. Only the focus adjustment was needed, and this was not even used since the LED sprays out so much light.

The system was assembled and aligned then thermal tested to -43.6F (-42C) to 114.8F (46C) survival and random vibration tested to 14.1GRMS. It survived and is now integrated into the GLAS electronics box.

Challenges and lessons learned

The main challenge on this project was schedule. The basic design was completed in approximately one day.