Space Tech Expo
The Space Tech Expo 2021 took place in Bremen from November 16th to 18th, 2021. Dr. Nils Bartels and Felicitas Niebler represented the Institute of Technical Physics and presented Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) technology. SLR is a laser-based method to determine the trajectories of orbital objects. With this method, the distance between a ground station and a satellite can be measured with very high accuracy of a few millimeters up to 25.000 kilometers distance. A compact and transportable ground station for SLR is currently being developed in a project for technology marketing. The Institute of Technical Physics also introduced a concept in which satellites can be identified and differentiated with lasers by attaching passive retroreflectors. This technology can make an important contribution to the sustainable use of low Earth orbits (LEO), which encounter a constant increase in satellite density.
