LACE

Laser Atmospheric Communications Experiment

LACE Retro Array   Lace Home Page

Launched on February 14, 1990, the LACE spacecraft provided Dept. o f Defense researchers the first space based target board for low power laser research. ITE initially proposed this research to the USAF Ballistic Missle Defense Office (BMDO). Shortly thereafter, the program was assigned to the Naval Research Laboratory as the lead DoD agency for space based targets for the newly formed Strategic Defense Initiative. ITE’s role in this key DoD program included:
  • Concept development
  • Systems engineering
  • Integration support at NRL and Kennedy Space Center
  • Primary responsibility for the Sensor Array Subsystem (SAS)
  • Primary responsibility for the Electrical Power Subsystem (EPS)
  • Mission planning
  • Flight Data Analysis
  • Development of sensor calibration systems, critical ground support equipment
LACE verview
LACE System Overview

SAS components include 85 UV and 40 IR detectors, detector filters, a 252 cube retroreflector array, laser trigger detectors, detector signal processor, control and power distribution. These items were all designed, built, tested and integrated by ITE Inc. IR detectors operated from 3.6 to 4.2 microns with a range of 1x10-7 to 5x10-3 Watts per cm2. UV detectors operated over the range of 0.4 to 1.06 microns with a range of 1x10-7 to 1x10-2 Watts per cm2 for the chopped uplink and 1x10-8 to 3x10-3 Joules per cm2 for the pulsed uplink. The EPS system incorporated a Solar Array and battery system with associated regulators and power switching control electronics. ITE provided the system design and the design, fabrication, test and integration of the EPS shunt regulators, power switching unit, spacecraft harness. ITE procured the batteries and solar arrays. The EPS system was completely redundant and could be configured to independently use either the A or B units of the different devices. ITE provided on orbit support, monitoring and evaluating the EPS performance, and supported mission sequence planning for EPS utilization and SAS experiments. ITE built and operated a computer controlled EPS simulator utilizing the spare flight regulator and battery, simulating solar inputs based on orbit modeling and simulating power utilization by computer controlled resistive loads.

The system operated satisfactorily in space for 3 years after which the LACE spacecraft was “turned off” in February 1993 having accomplished its mission.