Precision Ultrasensitive Micromotion Interferometer

NASA needs hardware technologies to maintain hyper-precision spacecraft constellations at a level that will make separated spacecraft optical interferometry practical. To address this need, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop and test a novel Precision Ultrasensitive Micromotion Interferometer (PUMI) system based on the company's unique phase conjugate micromotion detection technology, which will measure motion at an accuracy three orders of magnitude greater than current techniques such as Doppler lidar. The illumination will cycle at 4 Hz for each micron per second of motion with respect to the other spacecraft. These cycles are detected to determine spacecraft micromotion. Phase conjugation eliminates optical path difference problems, and phase distortions that are due to any intervening media. In Phase I POC will determine the requirements and expected performance of phase conjugate micromotion detection (PCMD), identify design tradeoffs, and produce a proof-of-principle system to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed PUMI approach for NASA applications. In Phase II the design will be optimized for the intended use, information processing will be added, and an optimized PCMD system applicable to PUMI will be demonstrated.