The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has pursued an effort to demonstrate the capture of distant space images through CubeSat-based telescopes.
The International Space Station on July 13 deployed the agency's Deformable Mirror or DeMi CubeSat satellite that features a miniature telescope with microelectromechanical technology., DARPA said Tuesday.
DeMi's mirrors change in shape to filter out mechanical- and temperature-based effects that disrupt an image's quality. DARPA seeks to evaluate the deformable mirror's ability to improve image quality amid the radiation and thermal effects of space.
The CubeSat has so far demonstrated correct spacecraft pointing, temperature stability and solar array performance. Boeing's Aurora Flight Sciences subsidiary, Blue Canyon Technologies and Massachusetts Institute of Technology contributed to the effort.
The multisector team will soon move on to DeMi's payload checkout.
