We seek to examine near-JR photometric signatures for geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) communication satellites. To this end, we present a set of high quality photometric measurements for a sample of ten GEOs. The obervations were made with a standard set of broad band astronomical filters (Johnson filters), using the 3.6 meter telescope at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate Starfire Optical Range, Kirtland AFB, NM. The results indicate that near-JR photometric signatures can be used to distinguish amoung different satellite classes. Other uses of the data, e.g. anomaly resolution and health status, are discussed.

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Gone are the days of unfettered government spending. An affordable, high performance alternative to multi-million dollar adaptive optics systems is required by the scientific and industrial communities. We have constructed and now give early performance specifications for the 1 St ofthree low cost Adaptive Optics systems for the University of Puerto Rico ImagingInterferometer. Built in months, not years, our in-house subsystem developments include (1) a photon counting ICCD Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor; (2) a zero latency analog wavefront reconstructor; (3) a precision 2D geometry interpolator; (4) a 700Hz bandwidth beamsteering mirror system with photon counting tracker; and (5) a data acquisition, monitoring and deformable mirror control computer. Key to the control system is a 37-element MEM electrostatic membrane deformable mirror purchased from OKO Technologies. Every element of this system is innovative in the sense of exceptionally high performance at low cost. We will discuss the applicability of using several unique 2D liquid crystal spatial light modulators as correcting elements. We will discuss feedback vs. feed-forward implementations of control law, as well as many practical considerations of full implementation. Other possible medical, industrial, and scientific applications of this affordable, high performance AO technology will be presented.

A two multi-r0 telescope interferometer was built at Air Force Research Lab in Albuquerque New Mexico as a development testbed. The principal objective of this testbed is to develop existing techniques and to test novel low-cost technologies for applications in future interferometers. These technologies include a tip/tilt piston mirror that has a 500-Hz bandwidth with a 200-wave adjustable piston capability at 633nm. This type ofmirror has been installed on both telescopes and is used to track objects and scan for fringes. The data obtained on these objects will be used to determine algorithms for measuring fringe visibility at low light level.Additional technologies include liquid crystal devices that have been used to correct static aberrations in the optical system and will be used with a new wave front sensing technique to correct low order atmospheric aberrations. The new wave front sensor currently being developed in-house uses a GEN III intensifier optically coupled to a Dalsa camera to provide atmospheric correction on faint extended objects. The testbed will also be utilized to test single mode fiber optics as a replacement to traditional recombining optics. This will potentially reduce the cost and simplif,' the alignment ofmulti telescope interferometers.

The Air Force Phillips Laboratory is testing the feasibility of developing a long-path, CO2 laser-based DIAL system for remote sensing applications from an airborne platform. The validity of DIAL system performance simulations for long slant-range paths is being established by means of well-characterized field experiments in which the contributions of atmospheric transmission and atmospheric-turbulence-induced beam spreading and scintillation are being independently measured concurrently with DIAL system radiometric performance.Initial measurements were performed with both diffuse and specular targets using a 3.2 km path located at the Phillips Laboratory Starfire Optical Range1'2. Measurements reported herein were performed using a slant-range path of 21.3 km originating at the Phillips Laboratory AMOS facility on Maui, Hawaii. The latter location offers a slant-range propagation path from 3.04 km above sea level (ASL) to near sea level. The DIAL system under test utilized a 4-joule class laser coupled to 61 cm aperture beam director telescope. Measurements were performed with the laser operating on the 13 isotope in order to increase the atmospheric transmission with respect to a laser operating at C'20216 wavelengths. Concurrent atmospheric optical characterization measurements were performed with an infrared scintillometer operating over the same path and at the same wavelength as the DIAL system. Results of atmospheric propagation characterization measurements will be described in this paper and results of DIAL system performance and comparisons to simulations will be described in accompanying papers3'4. 0-8194-1944-3/95/$6.00 SPIE Vol. 2580/17 Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 05/30/2015 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms