Projects

• Lidar and Directed Energy Components
  • 2-micron Laser
  • Roof Periscope
  • AEROTEL Chopper Wheel
  • AROTEL Receiver for the SOLVE Mission
  • Fiber Optic Couplers
  • Raman Lidar Chimney
  • Telescope Assemblies
  • 400mm aperture elevation-over-azimuth scanner
  • Large aperture mirror mounts
    • SOR
    • ABLTB
  • Lidar-In-A-Box
  • Titanium-Sapphire Laser
  • Single Point Diamond Turning
• Complete Lidar/Active Instruments
  • Raman Airborne Spectroscopic Lidar (RASL)
  • LVIS
  • Micro-Pulse Lidar
  • THOR Lidar
  • Phasers - Prototype Holographic Atmospheric Scanner for Environmental Remote Sensing
  • HARLIE (Holographic Airborne Rotating Lidar Instrument Experiment) Hemisphere Scanning Stage
  • High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL)
  • GOLD
  • 2-micron CO2 Lidar
  • DAWN AIR1
• Support Equipment
  • ESTAR Calibration Scanner
  • Cloud Physics Lidar Handling Cart
• Aircraft Installations
  • ER-2 Doppler Radar Data System Enclosure
  • Cloud Radar System Data System Enclosure
  • King Air Rear Cargo Area Riser plate and electronics racks
  • King Air 4-bay electronics rack with shock isolation
  • RSP Instrument installation in King Air
  • HSRL instrument installation
  • 400mm aperture window port for King Air HSRL-247-X
  • Raman Airborne Spectroscopic Lidar (RASL)
  • RASL segmented window and external heat exchanger
  • LVIS installation in King Air
  • MASTER installation in King Air
  • HiWRAP in WB-57
• Complete Passive Optical Instruments
  • Offner Spectrometers (grating based)
  • Refractive Spectrometers
  • Lens assemblies
  • Telescope Assemblies
    • Conventional telescopes with glass optics
      • 150mm, 400mm CN, 400mm Newt, 200mm athermal for MPL
    • SPDT telescope
• RF Instruments
  • UAV Radar
  • HiWRAP
  • ER-2 Doppler Radar Data System Enclosure
  • Cloud Radar System Data System Enclosure
• Single Point Diamond Turning
  • Large Diameter Scanner
  • Lidar-In-A-Box
  • Diamond Turned Telescope Assemblies
    • 400mm series 1
    • 400mm series 2
    • 200mm
    • 150mm
    • 100mm
• Space-based Instruments
  • Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS)
    • Laser Pickoff System
    • Stellar Reference System - Bench Checkout Equipment
    • Fiber Optic Splitter
    • Light Emitting Diode Coupler
  • ISIR-AL
  • Simplesat Optical Microsatellite
  • HICO Spectrometers

SRS - BCE

Time Period

December 1998 to May 2001

Project Description

The Stellar Reference System - Bench Checkout Equipment (SRS-BCE) is used to test and callibrate the star tracker and stellar reference system on the GLAS instrument prior to launch. The stellar reference system compares the stars it views to a database of star fields. This permits extremely accurate altimetry measurements of the polar ice caps.

The SRS-BCE is used to test and callibrate the SRS. Therefore, it must be more accurately aligned and more stable than the flight instrument. This system feeds a star pattern into the GLAS SRS via a 257 fiber optic (16 x 16 with 1 reference fiber) array. The SRS-BCE also monitors this star pattern in relation to the GLAS Laser.

The entire system must be thermal vacuum compatible. Therefore, it must not out gas when subjected to vacuum levels of 10-Torr.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

This is one of my longest term projects. It taught me how to properly use Pro/ENGINEER so that designs could be quickly and easily changed througout the design's lifetime.

Click here to view a more detailed PDF. - To view PDF, you will need to download Adobe's Acrobat Reader.