Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) broke ground at Kirtland Air Force Base to mark the construction of a new 3,500-square-foot facility for space environment research. The $3.5 million Skywave Technology Laboratory will allow researchers to test large antennas and sensor systems outdoors before deployment, Kirtland AFB said Thursday.
“The Skywave Lab will provide the work space our team needs for space environment research, which involves developing and testing new instrumentation, preparing for field experiments around the globe, as well as collecting and processing data to support ionospheric and radio frequency research,” said Todd Parris, leader of AFRL's geospace environment impacts and applications branch at Kirtland AFB.
AFRL's team of field testers deploy technologies designed to forecast the ionosphere and how changes in space weather can affect space systems. These tests involve the use of optical and radio diagnostics to generate more data on the ionosphere.
