Engineers at our Aerospace/Communications Division have been building interferometers since the early 1990s.

They developed an interferometer capable of sampling 1,500 points of the earth’s infrared spectrum — compared with 15-20 points sampled by the filter wheels in today’s weather satellites. And now they’re putting this piece of technology through its paces, subjecting it to incredible temperature and vibration ranges.

Test by test, prototype by prototype, 50 rigorous design reviews in 2003 alone, our engineers developed an interferometer that can survive a space launch and operate flawlessly for the decade-and-a-half lifespan of most weather satellites.

When a speck of dust can obliterate an entire mission, you must design and build technology to withstand incredible tolerances and demands. A/CD has done just that.