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Pointing acquisition and performance for the laser interferometry space antenna mission

T T Hyde, P G Maghami and S M Merkowitz

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The laser interferometer space antenna (LISA) mission, a space-based gravitational wave detector, uses laser metrology to measure distance fluctuations between proof masses aboard three spacecraft. Each spacecraft has two incoming and two outgoing laser beams for a total of six laser links. These links are established sequentially at the start of the mission, and the spacecraft control systems must aim their lasers at each other with pointing motions less than 8 nrad Hz−1/2 in the frequency band 1–100 mHz. The process for acquiring the laser links as well as the simulated performance is described.


PACS

04.80.Nn Gravitational wave detectors and experiments

84.40.Ba Antennas: theory, components and accessories

42.62.Eh Metrological applications; optical frequency synthesizers for precision spectroscopy

07.60.Ly Interferometers

MSC

83C35 Gravitational waves

78A50 Antennas, wave-guides

Subjects

Electronics and devices

Instrumentation and measurement

Optics, quantum optics and lasers

Gravitation and cosmology

Dates

Issue 5 (7 March 2004)

Received 29 August 2003

Published 9 February 2004



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