2015 USAFA Research Report: Discover Falcon Innovation

Abstract

The broad range of research being done at the Academy is part of motivating future leaders of character. Collaboration opportunities, to include multi-disciplinary research, work to broaden the scope of cadet learning. One multi-disciplinary project is FalconSAT-7. FalconSAT-7 is scheduled to launch in 2016, and many of our departments and research centers had a hand in making it a reality, including Physics, Astronautical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Management. While Astronautical Engineering cadets completed work on the CubeSat, Physics majors created a photon sieve. The sieve is a novel optical element consisting of a flat opaque sheet with millions of tiny holes. Light passing through these holes is focused in a similar manner to a lens or a mirror. This reduces the size of telescopes without sacrificing clarity.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2015
Accession Number
AD1005877

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Air Force Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Biological Sciences
  • Civil Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Health Services
  • Information Systems
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Medical Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Psychology
  • Students
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Graph Algorithms and Convex Optimization.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Satellites