Torrance, California, August 17, 2004: Millimeter Wave subsystems produced by QuinStar Technology are functioning perfectly and providing very significant scientific data from two different space missions on two satellites launched during the last few months- NASA’s Aura spacecraft, and European Space Agency’s Rosetta Spacecraft.

NASA’s Aura spacecraft, which is part of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) mission, carried four major instruments to monitor the health of earth’s atmosphere by measuring many pollutants and map ozone layer. It was launched from Southern California on July 15, 2004 on a Delta II rocket. As of August 13, the Aura Chemistry Platform has already started to supply meaningful scientific data. QuinStar provided the three critical phase-locked local oscillators assemblies for the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument that measures and maps ozone, chlorine monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and other gases in the atmosphere.

Whereas these receivers within the MLS instrument operate at and around 190, 240, and 640 GHz, the local oscillator subsystems were at 96, 120 and 107 GHz, respectively. These phase-locked sources were highly challenging from both technical performance and reliability points of view. Some of the photographs included here show QuinStar’s local oscillator assemblies and the MLS instrument. Some of the technical details are also included in the accompanying table. All oscillators used Indium Phosphide Gunn diodes to produce their millimeter wave power, and used specially designed phase-locked loops and reference oscillators.

QuinStar Local Oscillator Characteristics

95.95 GHz with 20 mW output power, locked to a 5/190 MHz reference oscillator

120 GHz ozone and carbon monoxide

119.83 GHz with 20 mW output power, locked to a 5/230 MHz reference source

640 GHz N₂O, HC_l, C_lO, HOC_l, BrO, HO₂, and SO₂

107.145 GHz 80 mW output power, locked to a 5/145 MHz source

MLS has already started sending scientific data of its measurements, and this will be correlated to data from several ground-based ozone monitoring stations. EOS Aura, and MLS in particular, will provide answers to three key questions:

For additional information on QuinStar’s Space Qualified Microwave and Millimeter Wave Products program, and standard catalog products, please contact QuinStar Sales Department. For detailed information on NASA’s EOS and Aura Mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_
pages/aura/main/index.html

European Space Agency (ESA) Rosetta mission was launched on March 2, 2004 on Ariane 5 G+ from Kourou, French Guiana, and is headed toward Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, where it will arrive in May 2014. This mission was also supported by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of NASA.

This scientific mission will drop a probe on the comet’s surface, study the comet from orbit, and fly by at least one asteroid en route. The principal goals are to study the origin of comets, the relationship between cometary and interstellar material and its implications with regard to the origin of the solar system.

QuinStar Technology provided the phase-locked local oscillator for one of the receivers on the NASA-JPL’s Microwave Instrument for Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO), which measures temperature, water, carbon monoxide, ammonia and methanol in the gaseous atmosphere of the comet. This receiver operates at around 562 GHz, with its local oscillator at 140 GHz. QuinStar produced the phase-locked oscillator using high power Indium Phosphide Gunn diode. MIRO instrument has been tested after launch, and is operating nominally.

MIRO INSTRUMENT

For additional information on QuinStar’s Space Qualified Microwave and Millimeter Wave Products program, and standard catalog products, please contact QuinStar Sales Department.

For More information on Rosetta visit http://rosetta.esa.int.