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Seth's Project
An Interferometer for Low Uncertainty Vector Metrology
Research Associate: Seth Koterba
Principal Investigator: Ronald Toland, Code 551
To reduce the risk of failure, satellites and other spacecraft are subjected to a rigorous integration and test schedule. Tests that simulate
the vibration and acoustic stresses during launch and the temperature variations experienced on orbit are administered to verify that a
spacecraft will endure similar environmental stresses throughout its lifetime. Although some test failures are easily discernable, many are
less obvious and require special measurement techniques to recognize. Vector metrology is the measurement system used to analyze spacecraft
before and after environmental tests to reveal small changes in alignment between components. Currently vector metrology is capable of
measuring changes in alignment on the order of a few arcseconds, however future missions have called for metrology requirements of tenths and
even hundredths of an arcsecond. The major limitation in sensitivity is the primary measurement tool, which is called a theodolite. A new tool
that utilizes the sensitivity of interferometry has been proposed as a replacement for the theodolite. A testbed for this new tool, called a
theoferometer, has been designed and is in the process of being constructed.
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