The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM): technology development progress and plans

Optical and infrared interferometry will open new vistas for astronomy over the next decade. Space based interferometers, operating unfettered by the Earth´s atmosphere, will offer the greatest scientific payoff. They also present the greatest technological challenge: laser metrology systems must perform with sub-nanometer precision; mechanical vibrations must be controlled to nanometers, requiring orders of magnitude disturbance rejection; a multitude of actuators and sensors must operate flawlessly and in concert. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory along with its industry partners, Lockheed Martin and TRW, are addressing these challenges with a development program that plans to establish technology readiness for the Space Interferometry Mission by the end of 2004.