LISA Pathfinder

Details LISA Pathfinder LISA Pathfinder

Jan 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21344906s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #449.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.341

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

LISA Pathfinder, formerly known as SMART-2, is the second of the European Space Agency's Small Missions for Advanced Research and Technology. The mission will pave the way for the joint ESA/NASA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), by testing the core assumption of gravitational wave detection - and to a larger extent, General Relativity - that free particles follow geodesics.
In order to meet the goals of the mission, and to prepare the way for LISA, several new technologies must be demonstrated in a space environment. These include: inertial sensors, high-precision laser metrology, drag-free control and micro-Newton proportional thrusters.
LISA Pathfinder will carry two payloads: the LISA Technology Package (LTP), provided by European Member States and ESA, and the Disturbance Reduction System (DRS) provided by NASA. The DRS has passed its pre-ship acceptance review and has been delivered to ESA, while the LTP has passed its Critical Design Review, with flight hardware currently being manufactured and tested.
The spacecraft development is also proceeding well; the flight structures of both the science module and propulsion module are undergoing environmental testing, while subsystem flight hardware is being delivered to the spacecraft testbeds.
LISA Pathfinder will be launched on a dedicated launch vehicle in late 2010. After 15 apogee raising manoeuvres, the sciencecraft will enter its final orbit around the first Sun-Earth Lagrange point. First science results are expected approximately three months after launch.
Here we will give an overview of the mission including the technologies being demonstrated. We will also report on the status of the flight hardware testing, and on the status of the ground system.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

LISA Pathfinder does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with LISA Pathfinder, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and LISA Pathfinder will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1704944