Optics at marshall space flight center

The aim and direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) programs of research in optics has been to produce the technology base and to gain the knowledge prerequisite to the support of launch vehicle development. MSFC conducts and sponsors in industry research leading to the development of new orimproved optical system components, including lenses, filters, laser sources, detectors, modulators, imaging devices, and beam scanners. Much of this effort is directed primarily toward assuring that such components will survive and perform adequately in the hostile environment created by a large space booster. This research involves the development techniques for the effective utilization of optical instrumentation in measuring systems, and the extension of fundamental principles and processes developed in the field of optics to other areas of research. The current direction of the MSFC program in optics is toward development of optical systems for use in space and integrating such systems into space vehicles as principal payloads. The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) is our major program in this area, but efforts are already under way to establish the base technology to support larger, more versatile, more universal optical facilities for flight-borne space science research.