engineering
SSAI expertise spans the breadth of instrument engineering work, from scientific concept to design to prototype and flight-qualified development and deployment in the field, on aircraft, balloons, rockets, and on orbit. Working at the intersection of Engineering and Science, SSAI professionals have translated scientific requirements and engineering concepts into fully-functioning instruments that explore physical phenomena across Earth and space science disciplines.
New Instrument Development Support
- Instrument concept development and analysis
- System definition
- Mission/instrument modeling
- System development
- Computer-aided design
- Instrument fabrication
- Sensor calibration and characterization
- Instrument and payload operations
- Active and passive instrument controllers and simulators
Engineering Infrastructure Support
- Maintenance and operation of facility support equipment
- Test design, planning, and implementation
- Maintenance and operation of clean rooms
- Repair and refurbishment of institutional instrument systems
- Maintenance and operation of calibration equipment
Selected SSAI Engineering Efforts
Full life-cycle support for ground, aircraft, and satellite-based sensors. Work encompasses opto-electro-mechanical engineering; sensor development, calibration, maintenance, and repair; field campaign planning and execution; flight mission planning. Recent or ongoing efforts include:
- Calibration and validation of data from Ozone Monitoring Instrument on the Aura spacecraft and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite, to fly on the next generation of environmental monitoring spacecraft
- EEE Parts support for the CERES FM5, CALIPSO, SAGE III and other instrument projects at NASA’s Langley Research Center
- Development of the Interoperable Remote Component (IRC) package – a flexible, platform-independent framework for distributed control and monitoring of scientific devices and sensors. In the Spring of 2011, IRC was used to control a ground-based 140-162 GHz bolometer camera conducing observations of distant galaxies.
- Perform mid-infrared solid state laser research, development, and testing and support development of lidar technologies including detectors and telescopes
- Research and Development activities leading to space-qualifiable lasers, along with design, integration, implementation, and testing of coherent and 3D imaging lidar systems
- Major engineering design and development for Laser remote sensing systems, including support for the Autonomous Landing and Hazard Avoidance Technology (ALHAT) project at NASA’s Langley Research Center