Rockwell Scientific Recognized by NASA for Breakthrough Infrared Detector Technology -- Technology will significantly improve infrared astronomy.THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Rockwell Scientific Company LLC (RSC) announced today that RSC scientists James Garnett, Markus Loose, and Majid Zandian, along with team members from the University of Hawaii (body, education) University of Hawaii - A University spread over 10 campuses on 4 islands throughout the state. http://hawaii.edu/uhinfo.html. See also Aloha, Aloha Net. , NASA Ames Research Center NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) is a NASA facility located at Moffett Federal Airfield, which covers 43 acres at the borders of the cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale in California. This research center is most commonly called NASA Ames. , NASA Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately 6.5 miles northeast of Washington, D.C. , and the Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST; in orbit since 1990) and for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST; scheduled to be launched in 2013). , have been honored with the prestigious Space Act Award from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), (NASA) Inventions and Contributions Board. The RSC/UH team worked closely with its customer, the NASA Ames Research Center, to develop the extremely sensitive, large-format infrared detector array technology for astronomy. This breakthrough innovation has dramatically improved focal plane arrays in the 0.6 to 5 micrometer micrometer (mīkrŏm`ətər, mī`krōmē'tər). 1 Instrument used for measuring extremely small distances. region of the infrared. Astrophysical observations of unparalleled sensitivity have been made possible with this invention. NASA gives this award for scientific and technical contributions that advance NASA's aeronautical, commercialization and space goals. RSC, long known for providing the enabling technology and instruments that allow for the advancement of great scientific work, was selected for recognition based on the team's development of very sensitive detector technology capable of operating at higher temperatures than existing state-of-the-art detectors. RSC will design and develop this technology for the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) Instrument of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope This article or section documents a scheduled or expected spaceflight. Details may change as the launch date approaches or more information becomes available. , the successor to the famed Hubble Space Telescope Hubble Space Telescope (HST), the first large optical orbiting observatory. Built from 1978 to 1990 at a cost of $1.5 billion, the HST (named for astronomer E. P. Hubble) was expected to provide the clearest view yet obtained of the universe. . RSC's ultra sensitive 16 megapixel focal plane arrays offer a several hundred-fold increase in pixel count over those currently used in space-based telescopes for infrared astronomy missions. "These imaging devices will greatly expand our astronomical capabilities and give us the opportunity to study the evolution of the universe in greater detail," said James Garnett, Program Manager of the JWST NIRCam detector program at RSC. The RSC detectors are key instruments in capturing the "first-light" emitting objects to form after the Big Bang. About Rockwell Scientific Company Rockwell Scientific Company LLC, based in Thousand Oaks, CA, is an independent, privately owned high-technology enterprise with unique technical strengths in imaging sensors, electronics, optics, materials, and information science. Its range of activities include U.S. Government and private sector companies, as well as the manufacturing and sale of high- value products and licenses closely related to its R&D efforts. Additional information can be obtained at www.rockwellscientific.com. |
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