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FPGA Control System for the Automated Test of MicroshuttersThe James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to replace the Hubble in 2013, must simultaneously observe hundreds of faint galaxies. This requirement has led to the development of a programmable transmission mask which can be adapted to admit light with arbitrary pattern of galaxies into its spectrograph. This programmable mask will contain a large array of micro-electromechanical (MEMs) devices called MicroShutters. These microscopic shutters physically open and close like the shutter on a camera, except each shutter is microscopic in size and an array 365 by 171 is used to select the objects under spectroscopic observation at a given time, and to block the unwanted background light from other areas. NASA developed and is currently refining the exceptionally difficult process of manufacturing these shutters. This paper describes how the authors used LabVIEW FPGA and a reconfigurable I/O board to control the shutters in a test chamber and how the flexibility of the system allows us to continue to modify the control algorithms as NASA optimizes the performance of the MicroShutter arrays.
Document ID
20080047749
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Lyness, Eric
(Mink Hollow Systems United States)
Rapchun, David A.
(Global Science and Technology, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Moseley, S. Harvey
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
October 20, 2008
Subject Category
Instrumentation And Photography
Meeting Information
Meeting: 25th Space Simulation Conference
Location: Annapolis, MD
Country: United States
Start Date: October 20, 2008
End Date: October 23, 2008
Sponsors: NASA Headquarters, Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology, Johns Hopkins Univ.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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