Technology development for the space interferometry mission (SIM)

Optical and infrared interferometry will open new vistas for astronomy over the next decade. Space based interferometers, operating unfettered by the Earth´s atmosphere, will offer the greatest scientific payoff. They also present the greatest technological challenge: laser metrology systems must perform with sub-nanometer precision; mechanical vibrations must be controlled to nanometers requiring orders of magnitude disturbance rejection; a multitude of actuators and sensors must operate flawlessly and in concert. The Interferometry Technology Program at NASA´s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is addressing these challenges with a development program that plans to establish technology readiness for the Space Interferometry Mission by early in the year 2001