Beam wander experiments: terrestrial path

Abstract

We report on a set of measurements made in December 2005 by researchers from the University of Central Florida, SPAWAR's Innovative Science and Technology Experiment Facility (ISTEF), Harris Corporation, NASA Kennedy Space Center, and Northrop Grumman. The experiments were conducted on the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) over terrestrial paths of 1, 2, and 5 km. The purpose of the experiments was to determine the atmospheric-induced beam spreading and beam wander at various ranges. Two lasers were used in the experiments. Both were a pulsed 1.06 µm laser; however, one was single-mode and the other was multi-mode. Beam profiles were recorded near the target position. Simultaneous measurements of C n 2 , wind speed and direction, humidity, visibility, temperature, and surface temperature profiles were all recorded.