Carrier Plus: a sensor payload for Living With a Star space environment testbed (LWS/SET)

Abstract

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center are collaborating to develop the Carrier Plus sensor experiment platform as a capability of the Space Environment Testbed (SET). The Space Environment Testbed (SET) provides flight opportunities for technology experiments as part of NASA's Living With a Star (LWS) program. The Carrier Plus will provide new capability to characterize sensor technologies such as state-of-the-art visible focal plane arrays (FPAs) in a natural space radiation environment. The technical objectives include on-orbit validation of recently developed FPA technologies and sensor performance prediction methodologies, as well as characterization of the FPA radiation response to total ionizing dose damage, displacement damage and transients. It is expected that the sensor experiment will carry 4-6 FPAs and associated radiation correlative environment monitors (CEMs) for a 2008 launch. Sensor technology candidates may include n- and p-charge coupled devices (CCDs), active pixel sensors (APS), and hybrid CMOS arrays. This paper will describe the Carrier Plus goals and objectives, as well as provide details about the architecture and design. More information on the LWS program can be found at http://lws.gsfc.nasa.gov/ gov/. Business announcements for LWS/SET and program briefings are posted at http://lws-set.gsfc.nasa.gov.