Telescope Installed at Air Force Base
The
US Air Force installed a $2.5 million telescope Jan. 22 at a new research laboratory site in White Sands, N.M. The telescope is part of a system for improving the Air Force's ability to track missiles and destroy them with lasers.
The 1-m telescope will send and receive laser light to and from the site and Salinas Peak, another White Sands site 35 miles away. They will track how the atmosphere affects laser beams and use special optics to compensate for the distortion.
As part of the tests, the Air Force will launch several missiles as well as a Cessna plane equipped with detectors. The results are expected to benefit the Airborne Laser, a large aircraft equipped with a high-energy laser capable of destroying enemy ballistic missiles.
LATEST NEWS
- CLEO Heads to the East Coast
Apr 29, 2024
- Laser-Based Gas Analyzer Developed to Detect Air Pollution
Apr 29, 2024
- Qubits Could be Stored in Flash-Like Memory
Apr 29, 2024
- Exail Signs LLNL Contract, Partners with Eelume
Apr 26, 2024
- Menlo Moves U.S. HQ: Week in Brief: 4/26/2024
Apr 26, 2024
- Optofluidics Platform Keys Label-, Amplification-Free Rapid Diagnostic Tool
Apr 25, 2024
- DUV Lasers Made with Nonlinear Crystals Enhance Lithography Performance
Apr 25, 2024
- Teledyne e2v, Airy3D Collaborate on 3D Vision Solutions
Apr 24, 2024