Optikron (Germany)

Jena-Optronik has been contracted to develop and build the core main optics of the Sentinel-4/Ultra-violet/Visible/Near-Infrared (UVN) instrument, which comprises a telescope, a UV-VIS spectrometer and a NIR spectrometer. Due to its geo-stationary orbit and its compactness the photon flux seen by the instrument is low. Simultaneously the lens based optics of the instrument set new standards concerning performance. In consequence straylight levels within the instrument need to be reduced to the bare minimum including high quality polishing of the optics as well as manufacturing facilities as well as processes, which reduce the overall allowed contamination of the optical surfaces to be <50ppm for particular and <50ng/cm² molecular contamination.

During the previous 15 years, Rendezvous and Docking Sensors (RVS) were developed, manufactured and qualified. In the mean time they were successfully applied in some space missions: For automatic docking of the European ATV “Jules Verne” on the International Space Station in 2008; for automatic berthing of the first Japanese HTV in 2009, and even the precursor model ARP-RVS for measurements during Shuttle Atlantis flights STS-84 and STS-86 to the MIR station. Up to now, about twenty RVS Flight Models for application on ATV, HTV and the American Cygnus Spacecraft were manufactured and delivered to the respective customers. RVS is designed for tracking of customer specific, cooperative targets (i.e. retro reflectors that are arranged in specific geometries). Once RVS has acquired the target, the sensor measures the distance to the target by timeof- flight determination of a pulsed laser beam. Any echo return provokes an interrupt signal and thus the readout of the according encoder positions of the two scan mirrors that represent Azimuth and Elevation measurement direction to the target. [2], [3]. The capability of the RVS for 3D mapping of the scene makes the fully space qualified RVS to be real 3D Lidar sensors; thus they are a sound technical base for the compact 3D Lidar breadboard that was developed in the course of the Imaging Lidar Technology (ILT) project.

Due to the technological progress in manufacturing, freeform surfaces become a serious option within the optical design proces. The work presented here was done within the German Growth Core fo+ and involves all the steps from optical design to manufacturing and testing. The aim of this freeform demonstrator was to improve the field of view correction for an existing spectrometer telescope optics. Within the optical design process different solutions for this freeform element were evaluated. Based on this analysis, the freeform optics was manufactured by grinding and polishing. The results derived from this performance analysis will be presented.

Abstract In this paper the development and implementation of a novel amplifier setup as an additional stage for the CPA pump laser of the Petawatt Field Synthesizer, currently developed at the Max‐Planck‐Institute of Quantum Optics, is presented. This amplifier design comprises 20 relay‐imaged passes through the active medium which are arranged in rotational symmetry. As the gain material, an in‐house‐developed Yb:YAG active‐mirror is used. With this setup, stretched 4 ns seed pulses are amplified to output energies exceeding 1 J with repetition rates of up to 2 Hz. Furthermore, a spectral bandwidth of 3.5 nm (FWHM) is maintained during amplification and the compression of the pulses down to their Fourier‐limit of 740 fs is achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of 1 TW pulses generated via CPA in diode‐pumped Yb:YAG.

Since 1991, along track scanning radiometers (A)ATSR have been flown on a series of satellite platforms. These instruments use an along-track scanning design that provides two views of the same earth target through different atmospheric paths. Dual-view multispectral measurements can be used to derive an accurate atmospheric correction when retrieving geophysical parameters such as Sea Surface Temperature (SST). In addition, the (A)ATSR family of instruments use actively cooled detector systems and two precision calibration blackbody targets to maintain and manage on-board calibration. Visible channel calibration is implemented using a solar diffuser viewed once per orbit. As a consequence of these design features, resulting data derived from (A)ATSR instruments is both accurate and well characterized. After 10 years of Service the ENVISAT platform was lost in early 2012 asnd AATSR operations stopped. The Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Sentinel-3 “Sea Land Surface Temperature Radiometer“ (SLSTR) instrument is the successor to the AATSR family of instruments and is expected to launch in April 2014. The challenge for SLSTR is to develop and deliver a new instrument with identical or improved performance to that of the (A)ATSR family. The SLSTR design builds on the heritage features of the (A)ATSR with important extensions to address GMES requirements. SLSTR maintains the main instrument principles (along-track scanning, a two point infrared on-board radiometric calibration, actively cooled detectors, solar diffuser). The design also includes more spectral channels including additional bands at 1.3 and 2.2 μm providing enhanced cloud detection, dedicated fire channels, an increase of dual view swath from 500 to 740 km, an increase in the nadir swath of 1400 km. The increase in swath has led to, a new optical front-end design incorporating two rotating scan mirrors (with encoders to provide pointing knowledge) and an innovative flip mechanism to select a specific optical chain. Unavoidably, these improvements introduce complexity, risk, increased mass and power. Bearing these aspects in mind, this paper reviews the design and performance of the Sentinel-3 SLSTR.

Abstract Aims: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) play an important role in early embryonic development as well as in organ homeostasis and in tumorigenesis. We could show previously that BMP-2 enhance migratory and invasive properties of tumor cells. Furthermore, BMP-2 affects the expression of genes which are involved in the regulation of apoptosis. A crucial step in metastasis formation is the liberation of tumor cells from the primary site, the entrance into circulation and the long-lasting persistence in the peripheral blood. Therefore we asked whether BMPs might contribute to the vitality of circulating tumor cells. Methods: Leukocytes and circulating epithelial cells from the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients were labelled with fluorescent antibodies and magnetically enriched with the MACS® system. After separation of single vital cells with the aureka® device, a single cell multiplex RT PCR was performed using the AmpliGrid system. The PCR products were analysed by urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. For real-time single cell PCR demonstrating the expression level of selected genes the Fastlane system (Qiagen, Hilden) was used. Localization of phosphorylated receptor Smads was analysed by laser scanning microscopy after one hour incubation with 100 ng/ml BMP-2. Results: Circulating epithelial cells were identified by using the cell surface antigen EpCam. Vital EpCam-positive cells were picked and subjected to multiplex RT-PCR covering 5 components of the BMP signaling cascade as well as RPL13A for control. 121 of 265 selected cells expressed RPL13A. These cells were used for further analysis. Most of these cells expressed BMP-2 (54%), BMPR-IA (46%), BMPR-IB (82%). Transcripts of the type II receptor BMPR-II (35%) and the putative BMP antagonist BMP-3 (25%) were presen to a lower extend. The expression level of BMP-2 was comparable in individual EpCam-positive cells, thus at least an autocrine stimulation of the BMP signaling pathway can be assumed. For studying the responsiveness of circulating epithelial cells towards a BMP stimulus these cells were enriched from peripheral blood and incubated with BMP-2. Vital cells showed a predominant nuclear staining for pSmad1 demonstrating a functional BMP signalling network. Conclusion: We show that key components of the BMP signaling pathway are expressed in leukocytes and epithelial cells in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients. This indicates that the BMP signaling network potentially contributes to the activity and survival of circulating epithelial cells. This work was supported by the Dr. Rainald-Stromeyer-Stiftung Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-36. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-LB-36

Germany's future ground soldier program is entitled "IDZ-ES-: Infanterist der Zukunft - Erweitertes System". This latest "ES - enhanced system" is embedded in the specifications of a network-centric warfare concept with highly equipped soldiers of outstanding capabilities, based on new components. One of them will be the handheld multifunctional thermal imager which provides full C4ISTAR capability. This light weighted instrument includes a thermal imager to detect an object at 5000m, recognize it at 4200m and identify it at 2100m. The IR Image channel can be superimposed with a visual daylight image that is recorded by an integrated CCD-camera. The image which is available on two Organic Light Emitting Displays can be viewed through a binocular viewer. It also provides information of the command and control system. With the laser range finder, the Digital Magnetic Compass and GPS it is possible to measure one's own and the target's position. This information and live video sequences can be transferred to the C4I-alliance in wireless mode. It is possible to annotate seen objects with symbols and information. By networking, team members and control officers will have superior information along with possibilities for control of impact and can execute their mission more efficiently.