A LASER FOR AN EARTH-BASED SATELLITE ILLUMINATOR.

Abstract

A 250-joule, liquid-nitrogen cooled, ruby laser has been used to illuminate a specially equipped satellite, Explorer 22, with sufficient intensity to photograph the cube corner reflectors located on the satellite. The laser system including the photoreceiver is described. A simple method of aligning the optic axis with a known azimuth is presented. Some laser experiments designed to lengthen the lifetime of the laser and to optimize the output energy are also given. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1965
Accession Number
AD0619342

Entities

People

  • Robert L. Iliff

Organizations

  • Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Satellites
  • Corner Reflectors
  • Intensity
  • Lasers
  • Mechanical Jamming
  • Nitrogen
  • Photographs
  • Photography
  • Reflectors
  • Ruby Lasers

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Software Engineering
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Satellites