Optech
Optech Incorporated is a Canadian-owned for-profit company operating since 1974 and focusing on Laser-based survey systems.
Optech Inc is known for its association with Phoenix, a spacecraft launched for Mars in 2007.
The company
The company is active in the markets of airborne laser terrain mapping systems, airborne laser bathymetry, industrial and 3D imaging, and space lidar solutions.
Optech's founder is Dr Allan Carswell, who in 2006 received the John H. Chapman Award of Excellence by the Canadian Space Agency[1].
Robert D. Richards, Optech Space Division's director, has received a honorary doctorate (Doctor of Space Achievement honoris causa) from the International Space University which he co-founded with Peter Diamandis and Todd Hawley in 1987[2].
The company is described as a world leader in laser-based survey instruments and has 33 years of experience in lidars[3].
Association with Phoenix
The company designed the lidar (laser radar) of the Meteorological Station Lidar Sensor (MET) on the Phoenix spacecraft. The lidar will make measurements on the pressure and temperature of the atmosphere, the location and abundance of clouds on Mars, and the distribution of scatterers such as dust and fog in the lower Martian atmosphere[4][5]. The lidar was built in collaboration with MDA Space Missions, Canadian Space Agency, and scientists from Canada and United States[6].
Dr Carswell was also the originating Canadian Principal Investigator for the Phoenix mission[3].
Other projects
Optech, in association with MDA, also provided the lidar sensors of the USAF's XSS-11 mission[3].
References
- ^ http://www.optech.ca/press_chapman-award-06.htm
- ^ http://www.optech.ca/press_BobRichardsHonPhDSep05.htm
- ^ a b c http://www.space.gc.ca/asc/eng/exploration/phoenix_partners.asp#optech
- ^ http://www.optech.ca/space-flighthardware.htm
- ^ http://www.yorku.ca/yfile/archive/index.asp?Article=1647
- ^ http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/12300/