Project Description: 

This summer, I have had the opportunity to work at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in the Laser/Electro-Optics Branch. I have participated in the Laser Risk Reduction Project, an effort at Goddard intended to improve the performance and lifetime of lasers built for orbital satellites. For one of the two projects in which I have participated, I performed electrical analysis, optical and thermal imaging, and microscope inspections of laser diodes that are being studied for degradation over their lifetimes. The data collected during this project will be used to better understand when and why diodes fail on satellites, and to plan more effective methods to ensure longer lifetimes and more efficient performance by those diodes.

In the second project, I have contributed to the early development of an experimental laser system. If successfully completed, this device will eliminate the need for mirrors in satellite lasers, thereby removing one of the consistent causes of efficiency loss in orbital laser systems. For this project, I have constructed and tested the first prototypes of the new laser system. I have also set up, and written software for, the testing apparatus. While my internship ended long before this project will come to fruition, it is my hope that the infrastructure that I helped create will serve the continued efforts of the project in the future.

More important than any scientific contribution in my short stay, however, has been the opportunity to work at NASA, to witness the atmosphere of the nation’s space program, and to participate in true laboratory science. These experiences have helped me develop important skills, in both the scientific and professional sense, and will help me evaluate potential career paths as I approach the end of my college career. I am truly grateful to the Maryland Space Grant Consortium and SSAI., for making this opportunity available to me.