COMPACT LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY FOR CELSS FLIGHT EXPERIMENT HARDWARE

LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS FOR FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS IN PLANT GROWTHVARY FROM VERY HIGH PHOTON FLUX FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND PRODUCTIVITY TO PRECISE, NARROW-SPECTRAL-BAND CONTROL, AND/OR ABSOLUTE DARKNESS FOR PHOTOMORPHOGENIC CONTROL. DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR SPACECRAFT ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRE THAT THE LIGHTING SYSTEMS BE COMPACT AND EFFICIENT. IN THIS PROJECT, A WOVEN FIBER-OPTIC TECHNOLOGY, HERETOFORE USED PRIMARILY FOR LCD-PANEL BACKLIGHTING, WILL BE ADAPTED TO THEUSE OF HIGHER LIGHT INTENSITY AND FILTERED SPECTRAL CONTROL IN A COMPACT, LOCKER-BASED UNIT DESIGNED FOR SUPPORT OF PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENTS IN THE SHUTTLE MID-DECK LOCKER AREA. THE DESIGN WILL INTEGRATE AN INERT, HIGH-LIGHT-TRANSMITTING GROWTH CONTAINER. THE STATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THESE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS IS SUCH THAT AN INTEGRATION OF ALL COMPONENTS WILL RESULT IN A FLIGHT-READY HARDWARE ITEM. LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS FOR FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS IN PLANT GROWTHVARY FROM VERY HIGH PHOTON FLUX FOR PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND PRODUCTIVITY TO PRECISE, NARROW-SPECTRAL-BAND CONTROL, AND/OR ABSOLUTE DARKNESS FOR PHOTOMORPHOGENIC CONTROL. DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR SPACECRAFT ENVIRONMENTS REQUIRE THAT THE LIGHTING SYSTEMS BE COMPACT AND EFFICIENT. IN THIS PROJECT, A WOVEN FIBER-OPTIC TECHNOLOGY, HERETOFORE USED PRIMARILY FOR LCD-PANEL BACKLIGHTING, WILL BE ADAPTED TO THEUSE OF HIGHER LIGHT INTENSITY AND FILTERED SPECTRAL CONTROL IN A COMPACT, LOCKER-BASED UNIT DESIGNED FOR SUPPORT OF PLANT GROWTH EXPERIMENTS IN THE SHUTTLE MID-DECK LOCKER AREA. THE DESIGN WILL INTEGRATE AN INERT, HIGH-LIGHT-TRANSMITTING GROWTH CONTAINER. THE STATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THESE INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS IS SUCH THAT AN INTEGRATION OF ALL COMPONENTS WILL RESULT IN A FLIGHT-READY HARDWARE ITEM.