Ladar measurements of satellite vibrations with post-heterodyne detection autodyne receivers

Vibration signatures of the Low Power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (LACE) satellite were obtained using a ground based CO2 laser radar. The laser radar operated in a cw mode and utilized autodyne receivers to extract relative target velocity information between a germanium retroreflector located at the base of the satellite and a retroreflector array located at the tip of an extended forward boom. Time-frequency analysis algorithms were applied to the vibration data to investigate the correlation between excitations and modal structure. The resultant analysis suggests that vibration modes of an on-orbit space craft can be suppressed using simple open-loop techniques.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.