Shrinked Telescope to Revolutionize UAV-Mounted Space Missions
Optical sensors mounted on UAVs and drones can serve a vast array of space missions. However, their size and weight sometimes hinder the use of these sensors on small UAVs. Now, Lockheed Martin revealed the first images from an experimental, ultra-thin optical instrument, showing it could be possible to shrink space telescopes to a sliver of the size of today’s systems while maintaining equivalent resolution.
Weighing 90% less than a typical telescope, the Segmented Planar Imaging Detector for Electro-Optical Reconnaissance (SPIDER) opens a path for extremely lightweight optical instruments, allowing for more hosted payloads or smaller spacecraft, according to the company’s website. More broadly, the sensor technology has applications for aircraft and other vehicles—anywhere that depends on small optical sensors. The future could see UAVs with imagers laid flat underneath their wings, and cars could have imaging sensors that are flush against their grills.
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