LISA and the LTP

Abstract

The primary objective of the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna mission is the detection and observation of gravitational waves from massive black holes (MBH) and galactic binaries in the frequency range 10 −4 Hz … 10 −1 Hz. This low-frequency range is inaccessible to ground-based interferometers due to the background of local gravitational noise and because ground-based interferometers are limited in length to a few kilometres. LISA is envisaged as an ESA/NASA collaborative project, selected an ESA cornerstone mission and included in NASA's strategic plan and with a nominal launch date in 2011. SMART-2 is primarily intended to demonstrate the key technologies for the ESA/NASA collaborative LISA cornerstone mission. The synergy with the technology being used for Darwin motivates the utilization of SMART-2 for both missions. To this end, SMART-2 will accommodate a LISA technology package (LTP), provided by European institutes and industry and possibly also a Disturbance Reduction System (DRS) that is very similar to the LTP and has the same goals but is provided by US institutes and industry.