A SUPERCONDUCTING, ULTRA-PRECISION MULTI-SENSOR

THERE IS A NEED FOR IMPROVED SENSOR TECHNOLOGY FOR THE CONTROL OF LARGE SPACE STRUCTURES. A NOVEL SIX DEGREE OF FREEDOM, SUPERCONDUCTING MULTI-SENSOR IS PROPOSED. THE CONFIGURATION FEATURES A SUPERCONDUCTING PROOF INERTIA SUSPENDED BY MAGNETIC FORCES IN A REBALANCE CONFIGURATION WITH TUNNELING-TIP MICROSCOPES PROVIDING ANGSTROM LEVEL POSITION INFORMATION. THE EXTREMELY ACCURATE POSITION INFORMATION AND REDUCED THERMAL NOISE AT CRYOGENIC TEMPERATURES WILL ALLOW VERY HIGH PRECISION LINEAR AND ANGULAR ACCELERATION MEASUREMENTS TO BE MADE. ADDITIONAL ADVANTAGES ARE SMALL SIZE AND VERY LOW POWER CONSUMPTION. THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROGRAM WILL INVOLVE ANALYTICAL STUDIES, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY, AND THEDEVELOPMENT OF A BASELINE DESIGN FOR THE SUPERCONDUCTOR, CONTROL SYSTEM, ELECTRONICS, SENSORS, AND ACTUATORS. THE PHASE II EFFORT WILL INCLUDE DETAILED DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TESTING OF A PROTOTYPE UNIT.