There’s a status report on the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan- STARRS) and studies analyzing factors and consequences of the February 2009 collision of the Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 satellites.
A team with the Air Force Research Laboratory outlines research strategies for space systems that expand capabilities for national security. Other research groups expand on projects for image optimization, photon capture and optical modeling. A team with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency discusses light patterns in analyzing the condition of nonfunctioning satellites and space debris.
Those reports and dozens more presented at the 2009 AMOS Technologies Conference held in September will be, for the first time, accessible online along with abstracts and conference program information. (www.amostech.com/TechnicalPapers/2009.cfm)
“The conference is providing access to the papers as a service to the technical community and to enhance communications among the scientists and researchers involved in these fields,” said Sandy Ryan, AMOS Conference Director with Maui Economic Development Board.
“At the same time, these reports can provide insights to science writers and the public on the technology and research being conducted in areas that are of general interest – such as the ability of Pan-STARRS to characterize Potentially Hazardous Near-Earth Objects.”
The AMOS – Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies – Conference, presented by the Maui Economic Development Board, was conceived by the Maui branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory in 1999 as a way for researchers involved in space surveillance, optical systems development and imaging enhancement to share information on their work and develop collaborative partnerships.
It has become a premier international conference on space situational awareness and imaging technology, drawing more than 640 participants last year to the 10th annual conference on Maui. The 11th annual conference is scheduled for September 14 to 17. (www.amostech.com)
With the growth in interest, the AMOS Conference is providing online access to proceedings of conferences held since 2006. Papers from prior conferences also can be purchased on CD.
While many of the papers are narrowly focused on technical elements and incremental research developments, there also are presentations on projects of general public interest such as the analyses of the satellite collision that was the subject of international attention when it occurred, or the development of Pan-STARRS for tracking asteroids that could collide with Earth.
Pan-STARRS (PS-1) is a prototype telescope installed at the Haleakala summit to locate and identify asteroids and comets that may approach Earth, developed by the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy. It includes the world’s largest digital camera, a 1.4 gigapixel imaging system, as part of a project designed to have four separate 1.8-meter optical systems surveying and mapping large swaths of the sky. (pan-starrs.ifa.edu/public/home.html)