Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Northrop Grumman Space & Mission Systems Corporation

Martin Richard Flannery

Robert R Rice

Allen J Bronowicki

Jonathan W Arenberg

Dean R Dailey

Charles F Lillie

William Bryan Cottingame

A system and method is provided for uniform illumination of a target area. In one embodiment, the system comprises a plurality of mutually incoherent light sources configured to generate respective light beams with different wavelengths, and transmitting optics configured to transmit the light beams with different wavelengths in a non-overlapping wavelength light beam pattern over the target area, such that there are no overlap regions of the target area illuminated by a light beam from the same light source.

System and method for uniform illumination of a target area

A positioning boom disposed between a space-based observatory platform and its instrument payload provides thermal and dynamic isolation as well as fine pointing and momentum control. The inventive system isolates a sensitive payload from a warm, dynamically noisy spacecraft, which includes a sunshield. Isolation is required in terms of dynamics and heat flow, both in terms of the absolute level and its variance (thermal isolation). The present invention provides intrinsic control over momentum buildup (which is due to the separation of the center of pressure from the center of mass). The space-based platform also provides a view (field of regard) to at least half the sky (in the anti-sun direction).

Isolating positioning boom for instrument platform

Growing community of inventors

Santa Monica, CA, United States of America

Martin Richard Flannery