Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 45: Precision Measurement and Metrology 2

Q 45.8: Talk

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 12:30–12:45, HÜL 386

Status of the development of LISA Pathfinder — •Jens Reiche, Antonio Francisco García Marín, Heather Audley, Gerhard Heinzel, and Karsten Danzmann — Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) Hannover and QUEST, Leibniz University Hannover

LISA Pathfinder is a dedicated technology demonstration mission for the joint ESA/ NASA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. LISA Pathfinder will presumably be launched in 2013. LISA is a planned gravitational wave observatory in the frequency range of 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz which is a complementary frequency band to the Earth based detectors. The launch of LISA is planned for 2020. LISA Pathfinder's goal is to demonstrate the key technologies of LISA such as spacecraft control with micronewton thrusters, test mass drag-free control, and precision laser interferometry between free-flying test masses. The talk will give an overview of the actual status of LISA Pathfinder and the payload including its subsystems. The hardware is built by a number of different institutes and industries. Challenges including their solutions and the status of the systems, their integration, verification and testing will be presented.