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Civilian Uses of Military Surveillance Satellites
Volume 1, Number 1 (Winter 1999/2000)
From the President
Civilian Uses of Surveillance Satellites
Every 10 seconds nearly the entire Earth's surface is scanned by Defense Support Program (DSP) infrared surveillance satellites looking for the telltale signs of hostile missile launches. The Aerospace Corporation has been investigating the feasibility of using this existing capability to detect natural disasters and other related environmental phenomena.
Atomic Clocks Meet Laser Cooling
Scientists at Aerospace recently designed a laser-cooled atomic clock, specifically intended for space applications. The Aerospace atomic clock is compact, robust, requires relatively low power, and avoids problems associated with other proposed laser-cooled atomic clocks for space application. Aerospace estimates a factor of 100 improvement over the frequency stability of current space-qualified atomic beam clocks.
Lasers Simulate Space Radiation Effects
Testing microelectronic devices for their degree of vulnerability to single-event phenomena is therefore integral to designing devices to be used in space systems. The Aerospace Corporation is developing a system to generate short-pulse X-rays for SEE testing of electronics that promises to overcome disadvantages of typical testing methods used today.
New Hazards for a New Age
For many years, there was little concern about releasing material in orbit or simply leaving a satellite to drift in space at the end of its mission. Today there is heightened awareness that space debris poses a hazard to operating satellites because of high relative velocities at impact. For example, objects in low Earth orbit can collide at speeds exceeding 10 kilometers per second. At these speeds, even a small particle can cause serious damage.
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