WEBVTT FILE

1
00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:04.040
0.2 microradians. That's the

2
00:00:04.060 --> 00:00:08.060
angle of pointing stability of the ATLAS laser. If you

3
00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:12.120
placed a silver dollar 28 miles away from ATLAS, the laser's center

4
00:00:12.140 --> 00:00:16.140
would stay on the coin. That kind of stability is absolutely

5
00:00:16.160 --> 00:00:20.160
critical for the spacecraft to measure the height of Earth from orbit.

6
00:00:20.180 --> 00:00:24.220
To ensure pointing stability, ATLAS uses the Beam Steering Mechanism,

7
00:00:24.240 --> 00:00:28.260
which is a motorized mirror that moves to compensate for thermal changes

8
00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:32.290
that happen in orbit and prevents the ATLAS beams from bending as they head

9
00:00:32.310 --> 00:00:37.013
for Earth.
[music]


