Testing and space qualification of the NEAR laser range finder

Ashruf S. El-Dinary; Timothy D. Cole; Mark T. Boies; R. Alan Reiter; Daniel E. Rodriguez

doi:10.1117/12.243548

26 June 1996 Testing and space qualification of the NEAR laser range finder

Ashruf S. El-Dinary, Timothy D. Cole, Mark T. Boies, R. Alan Reiter, Daniel E. Rodriguez

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2748, Laser Radar Technology and Applications; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.243548
Event: Aerospace/Defense Sensing and Controls, 1996, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

The Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission is the first mission of the NASA Discovery Program. The NEAR spacecraft, developed and tested by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL), embarked on a four year mission on February 17, 1996. During the three- year cruise phase, the satellite will fly near the asteroid Mathilde and will receive an energy boost during an Earth swing-by in 1998. In 1999 NEAR will begin its year long orbit around the asteroid 433 Eros to collect scientific data using several instruments including an imager, a magnetometer, an X-ray/Gamma-ray detector, and a laser altimeter. The NEAR Laser Rangefinder (NLR) will provide altimetry data for characterizing the topography of Eros from a distance of 42 km. The instrument was designed and tested to meet the requirements of the NEAR space environment. In this paper we review the NLR design, present the test philosophy, highlight the tests, and present test results.

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Ashruf S. El-Dinary, Timothy D. Cole, Mark T. Boies, R. Alan Reiter, and Daniel E. Rodriguez "Testing and space qualification of the NEAR laser range finder", Proc. SPIE 2748, Laser Radar Technology and Applications, (26 June 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.243548

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