Development of a Compact Multi-spectral Photometer for Space Science

Tuesday, April 16, 2019 - 12:40 in Astronomy & Space

This blog post originated in the 2017 Science Mission Directorate Technology Highlights Report (33 MB PDF). Technology Development Earth’s ionosphere is increasingly recognized as a region of space that directly impacts the development and use of space assets for modern society. For example, changing conditions in the ionosphere can adversely affect radio communications and space-based navigation systems like the Global Positioning System (GPS). Monitoring the state of the ionosphere requires space-based instrumentation and preferably a fleet of spacecraft with identical instrumentation. CubeSats provide the capability to launch many identical platforms at a reasonable total cost, but they require miniaturized science instruments to fit within the limited size, weight, and power (SWAP) constraints. A full non-sequential ray trace was used to validate the internal baffle and optics layout prior to metal fabrication. To address these challenges, NASA is sponsoring the Compact Multi-Spectral Photometer for Space Science (COMPASS) project to develop a low-SWAP, high-sensitivity instrument capable of monitoring the...

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