FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date:
April 7, 2005
Contact: Jerome N. “Jerry” Harris
Director of
Strategic Marketing
Applied Technology Associates
1300 Britt St SE
Albuquerque, NM 87123 USA
Phone: (505) 767-1235
E-mail:
jharris@aptec.com
APPLIED TECHNOLOGY
ASSOCIATES ANNOUNCES NEW
OPTICAL INERTIAL
REFERENCE UNIT AT SPIE SYMPOSIUM
ORLANDO, FL
-- Applied Technology Associates, Inc. (ATA) has announced a new optical
inertial reference unit (IRU), capable of producing an unprecedented
stabilized reference beam for precision optical pointing and tracking.
Named MIRU III, the
latest addition to ATA’s IRU family is only half the size of its
predecessors weighing less than six pounds and measuring 4.75 inches in
diameter. An optical inertial reference unit creates a pseudo star in the
field of view of long range optical systems that allows precision pointing
and tracking, and cancellation of vibrations and jitter in the optical
systems. Without a stabilized reference beam, movement from vibration could
not be corrected and a system such as a large telescope could not accurately
track an object.
MIRU III provides
line-of-sight stabilization for airborne and space borne payloads at sub-100
nanoradian levels with a bandwidth of 1-1000 Hz. Applications for MIRU III
include long range laser communications, directed energy systems and large
telescopes.
Glen Smith, ATA IRU
business unit manager announced the first MIRU III is slated for delivery to
MIT Lincoln Labs in Summer April 2006 for use in the NASA Mars Laser
Communication Demonstrator spacecraft to provide stabilization and accurate
positioning of the laser transmitter from the Mars orbiter. Additional
units are planed for use in high power telescopes at the Starfire Optical
Range in New Mexico and optical systems in Hawaii. The extreme precision of
the MIRU is due to ATA’s proprietary MHD angular rate sensors combined with
the company’s high efficiency actuators, Kalman filters and real-time
controls. MIRU III and its larger predecessor MIRU II represent the highest
precision IRUs ever developed.
ABOUT ATA
Applied Technology
Associates, Inc. (ATA) was organized in 1975 in Albuquerque, NM. ATA has
acquired an international reputation for excellence in professional
engineering services for precision measurement, sensing, and control
applications, and ATA is considered the premier small company within this
expertise. In 1998, ATA acquired status as a federally certified,
Hispanic-owned 8(a). ATA products are used in defense systems, earth imaging
satellites, automotive crash testing, and in platform stabilization for
telescopes and laser communications systems. Named the Small Business
Administration Prime Contractor of the Year in 2004, ATA has also been on
New Mexico’s Flying 40 list of high-tech firms for the past four years.
ATA is remarkable in
its ability to transition technology to operational use and commercial
products by building off government funded R&D. One example is the
development of the Advanced Inertial Reference Unit, which is destined to
provide stabilization of the laser beam systems on the Airborne Laser
program. This will enable the aircraft to precisely point and deliver laser
energy to destroy enemy missiles in boost phase. ATA has achieved
outstanding results by offering a synergistic blend of top expertise in
design, components, controls, software, integration, and operations. This
encompassing mix is extremely unusual in a company of its size and makes it
stand well above its peers.
Located in the Sandia
Science and Technology Park, ATA employs about 70 people. ATA also operates
facilities on Kirtland AFB and at North Oscura Peak on the White Sands
Missile Range and as a subcontractor to SAIC provides testing support to the
Air Force Test and Evaluation Command in various locations around the
country. |
30 years 
