WATERLOO, Canada – September 6, 2016 - Teledyne DALSA, a Teledyne Technologies company and global leader in the design and manufacture of high performance custom imaging solutions has partnered with the University of Arizona in the development of three high resolution image detectors that will serve as “retinas” for the OSIRIS-REx mission to Bennu, scheduled for launch Thursday, September 8.
Designed, constructed and tested over the last four years, the image sensors aboard OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite (OCAMS) will behave in a manner similar to human eyes, from spotting the target asteroid from more than a million miles away to monitoring the sampling process just 10 feet from the surface of the asteroid. Space-qualified and radiation-hardened, the Teledyne DALSA CCD detectors feature very low dark signal with a low read out noise, and power each of the 3 cameras that comprise the OCAMS:
The spacecraft will reach Bennu in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023.
"Our mission tries to attempt a lot of things at the same time," OCAMS instrument scientist Bashar Rizk said. "Navigation, mapping, reconnaissance, sample site selection, sampling — we do it on the same trip, so we need to understand what is going on at the asteroid at all times, so we can make decisions in real time when we're there. The most important goal of these cameras is to maximize the chances of successfully bringing back a sample."
“We are pleased to contribute specialized imaging components to the OSIRIS-REx mission and congratulate the team at UA’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory as well as our own Custom Solutions team for their contributions in furthering science through space exploration,” commented Colin Flood, Vice President of Teledyne DALSA Advanced Imaging.
Two other Teledyne subsidiaries have contributed to the mission, including Teledyne Optech, with their design of the OSIRIS-REx Laser Altimeter (OLA) which will scan Bennu’s surface and create a high-resolution 3D map of the entire asteroid, and Teledyne Scientific and Imaging, which provided a visible-infrared detector to the OSIRIS-REx Visible and Infrared Spectrometer (OVIRS) that will produce spectral maps of the asteroid’s surface that determine the mineral and organic content of Bennu.
About Teledyne DALSA Custom Solutions
Teledyne DALSA’s custom solutions are comprised of a broad technology portfolio covering wavelengths from X-ray to infrared and tuned to meet the most demanding imaging applications. With more than 20 years of design, engineering and manufacturing expertise, the custom solutions team delivers the best possible image quality for a wide range of earth observation and reconnaissance applications, including agriculture, cadastral mapping, cartography, forestry, land use/land cover mapping, environmental studies, natural hazard assessment, flood risk management, transportation engineering, urban planning, civil engineering, oil and gas exploration and geology. For more information, visit www.teledynedalsa.com/imaging/products/custom.
About Teledyne DALSA, Inc.
Teledyne DALSA, a Teledyne Technologies company, is an international leader in high performance digital imaging and semiconductors with approximately 1,000 employees worldwide, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1980, the company designs, develops, manufactures and markets digital imaging products and solutions, in addition to providing specialized semiconductor products and services including MEMS. For more information, visit Teledyne DALSA’s website at www.teledynedalsa.com.
