Daily News Briefs

Pro-Lite Technology, a Cranfield, England, distributor of laser and optical radiation measurement technology in the UK and Ireland, has been appointed a distributor for Cascade Technologies, a Glasgow, Scotland-based manufacturer of semiconductor lasers based on quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). QCLs are semiconductor lasers that can operate from around 4.5 µm to beyond 20 µm and can be fabricated as sources for terahertz radiation. Pro-Lite supplies lasers operating from 157nm to >10.6 microns, laser safety eyewear, laser power/energy meters, photonics components, opto-mechanics, integrating spheres and equipment for measuring optical radiation. . . . Santa had company in the sky over most of the US this holiday season. The International Space Station can be seen from most continental US cities, as well as Juneau, Alaska, on various days between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. The 200-ton plus station, which is more than 170 feet long and 240 feet wide, is visible in the pre-dawn hours, flying by at five miles a second. The Station's crew, Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao and flight engineer Salizhan Sharipov, are celebrating the holidays aboard the orbiting research complex this year. For more information, visit: www.jsc.nasa.gov/isssightings