Technology
Adaptive Optics
Free Space Optical Comm
Wavefront Sensing
SIRII
Adaptive Optics
Adaptive Optics (AO) implemented on ground-based telescopes delivers a crucial performance boost by overcoming the degrading effect of atmospheric turbulence. Imaging and spectroscopy for scientific discovery benefit from a major enhancement in resolution, enabling much finer detail to be distinguished in celestial objects. Defense applications can exploit the same advantages in missions to support Space Domain Awareness (SDA). AO enables both high-resolution imaging, of great value in determining the configuration and behavior of Resident Space Objects (RSOs), as well as high-contrast imaging which is essential to detect and characterize faint objects in the vicinity of much brighter ones. While computational post-processing techniques can be invaluable to achieve good resolution, the nature of photon noise means that they can do nothing to improve contrast. For that, AO is required.
Free Space Optical Communications
Adaptive Optics enormously boosts the achievable bandwidth and stability of laser communication links between orbiting satellites and stations on the ground. This is a critical area of rapid technology development as global space-based data networks are built out. Without AO, laser transmission through the Earth’s atmosphere suffers signal fade and drop-out. By compensating in real time for the atmospheric effects, AO stabilizes the link and improves the sustained data transmission rate by typically two orders of magnitude. HartSCI’s AO technology, coupled to the telescope of a laser communication link’s optical ground terminal, provides that crucial enhancement.
Wavefront Sensing
The heart of an AO system is the Wavefront Sensor (WFS) which makes the measurements critical to image compensation. HartSCI has developed several new methods to carry out this essential function. One example is the 3-sided Pyramid Wavefront Sensor (PWFS3) that is fundamentally more sensitive to wavefront error than other types in conventional use. Not only is HartSCI’s PWFS3 more sensitive, but it is also easier to manufacture than other types that have been previously demonstrated, resulting in AO systems that deliver higher image quality for lower cost.
SIRII
Developed under a USAF SBIR program, HartSCI has developed the Space-based InfraRed Imaging Interferometer (SIRII), a sensor that combines low weight and low volume for Earth-observing imaging missions in the SWIR and MWIR bands. Historically, optical payloads on board satellites have been large, heavy and expensive. The size and weight drives up launch cost as well, limiting the number of satellites that can be put on orbit. SIRII exploits aperture synthesis techniques to achieve the resolution performance of a larger sensor at a much reduced size, and leverages carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) technology in both the optics and structure for light weight. The use of replicated CFRP components supports rapid fabrication and low unit cost. An imaging sensor with reduced SWaP (size, weight and power) opens up many attractive cost saving options such as flying the sensor as a hosted payload on commercial satellites. The design is scalable to meet the requirements of a wide variety of space-based IR imaging scenarios ranging from low earth to geosynchronous orbits.
Technology
Adaptive Optics
Adaptive Optics (AO) implemented on ground-based telescopes delivers a crucial performance boost by overcoming the degrading effect of atmospheric turbulence. Imaging and spectroscopy for scientific discovery benefit from a major enhancement in resolution, enabling much finer detail to be distinguished in celestial objects. Defense applications can exploit the same advantages in missions to support Space Domain Awareness (SDA). AO enables both high-resolution imaging, of great value in determining the configuration and behavior of Resident Space Objects (RSOs), as well as high-contrast imaging which is essential to detect and characterize faint objects in the vicinity of much brighter ones. While computational post-processing techniques can be invaluable to achieve good resolution, the nature of photon noise means that they can do nothing to improve contrast. For that, AO is required.
Free Space Optical Communications
Adaptive Optics enormously boosts the achievable bandwidth and stability of laser communication links between orbiting satellites and stations on the ground. This is a critical area of rapid technology development as global space-based data networks are built out. Without AO, laser transmission through the Earth’s atmosphere suffers signal fade and drop-out. By compensating in real time for the atmospheric effects, AO stabilizes the link and improves the sustained data transmission rate by typically two orders of magnitude. HartSCI’s AO technology, coupled to the telescope of a laser communication link’s optical ground terminal, provides that crucial enhancement.
Wavefront Sensing
The heart of an AO system is the Wavefront Sensor (WFS) which makes the measurements critical to image compensation. HartSCI has developed several new methods to carry out this essential function. One example is the 3-sided Pyramid Wavefront Sensor (PWFS3) that is fundamentally more sensitive to wavefront error than other types in conventional use. Not only is HartSCI’s PWFS3 more sensitive, but it is also easier to manufacture than other types that have been previously demonstrated, resulting in AO systems that deliver higher image quality for lower cost.
SIRII
Developed under a USAF SBIR program, HartSCI has developed the Space-based InfraRed Imaging Interferometer (SIRII), a sensor that combines low weight and low volume for Earth-observing imaging missions in the SWIR and MWIR bands. Historically, optical payloads on board satellites have been large, heavy and expensive. The size and weight drives up launch cost as well, limiting the number of satellites that can be put on orbit. SIRII exploits aperture synthesis techniques to achieve the resolution performance of a larger sensor at a much reduced size, and leverages carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) technology in both the optics and structure for light weight. The use of replicated CFRP components supports rapid fabrication and low unit cost. An imaging sensor with reduced SWaP (size, weight and power) opens up many attractive cost saving options such as flying the sensor as a hosted payload on commercial satellites. The design is scalable to meet the requirements of a wide variety of space-based IR imaging scenarios ranging from low earth to geosynchronous orbits.
Technology
Adaptive Optics
Adaptive Optics (AO) implemented on ground-based telescopes delivers a crucial performance boost by overcoming the degrading effect of atmospheric turbulence. Imaging and spectroscopy for scientific discovery benefit from a major enhancement in resolution, enabling much finer detail to be distinguished in celestial objects. Defense applications can exploit the same advantages in missions to support Space Domain Awareness (SDA). AO enables both high-resolution imaging, of great value in determining the configuration and behavior of Resident Space Objects (RSOs), as well as high-contrast imaging which is essential to detect and characterize faint objects in the vicinity of much brighter ones. While computational post-processing techniques can be invaluable to achieve good resolution, the nature of photon noise means that they can do nothing to improve contrast. For that, AO is required.
Free Space Optical Communications
Adaptive Optics enormously boosts the achievable bandwidth and stability of laser communication links between orbiting satellites and stations on the ground. This is a critical area of rapid technology development as global space-based data networks are built out. Without AO, laser transmission through the Earth’s atmosphere suffers signal fade and drop-out. By compensating in real time for the atmospheric effects, AO stabilizes the link and improves the sustained data transmission rate by typically two orders of magnitude. HartSCI’s AO technology, coupled to the telescope of a laser communication link’s optical ground terminal, provides that crucial enhancement.
Wavefront Sensing
The heart of an AO system is the Wavefront Sensor (WFS) which makes the measurements critical to image compensation. HartSCI has developed several new methods to carry out this essential function. One example is the 3-sided Pyramid Wavefront Sensor (PWFS3) that is fundamentally more sensitive to wavefront error than other types in conventional use. Not only is HartSCI’s PWFS3 more sensitive, but it is also easier to manufacture than other types that have been previously demonstrated, resulting in AO systems that deliver higher image quality for lower cost.
SIRII
Developed under a USAF SBIR program, HartSCI has developed the Space-based InfraRed Imaging Interferometer (SIRII), a sensor that combines low weight and low volume for Earth-observing imaging missions in the SWIR and MWIR bands. Historically, optical payloads on board satellites have been large, heavy and expensive. The size and weight drives up launch cost as well, limiting the number of satellites that can be put on orbit. SIRII exploits aperture synthesis techniques to achieve the resolution performance of a larger sensor at a much reduced size, and leverages carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) technology in both the optics and structure for light weight. The use of replicated CFRP components supports rapid fabrication and low unit cost. An imaging sensor with reduced SWaP (size, weight and power) opens up many attractive cost saving options such as flying the sensor as a hosted payload on commercial satellites. The design is scalable to meet the requirements of a wide variety of space-based IR imaging scenarios ranging from low earth to geosynchronous orbits.