Objectives
LISA Pathfinder is intended to demonstrate the key technologies for the collaborative ESA/NASA LISA mission. To this end, LISA Pathfinder will accommodate a LISA Technology Package (LTP), a set of micropropulsion thrusters and drag-free control software provided by European institutes and industry and a Disturbance Reduction System (DRS) composed of micropropulsion thrusters and drag-free control software, provided by NASA.
The mission goals for the LTP are :
- Demonstrate drag-free and attitude control in a spacecraft with two proof masses in order to isolate the masses from inertial disturbances
Performance Required
3×10-14 ms-2 Hz-1/2, rising with frequency squared (f2) above 3 mHz, over the measurement bandwidth of 1-30 mHz
LISA Performance Required
3×10-15 ms-2 Hz-1/2, rising with frequency squared (f2) above 3 mHz, over the measurement bandwidth of 0.1 mHz - 1 Hz
- Demonstrate the feasibility of performing laser interferometry in the required low-frequency regime with a performance as close as possible to 10-12 m Hz-1/2 in the frequency band 1-30 mHz, as required for the LISA mission
- Assess the longevity and reliability of the capacitive sensors, thrusters, lasers and optics in the space environment
Last Update: 10 Nov 2009
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