Conceptual designs for advanced space-based lidar source

We have developed conceptual designs for multi-purpose lidar transmitters using common assumptions and analysis to estimate transmitter efficiency and weight in a space based, long life configuration. We examined five basic transmitters, each using diode array excitation of the active laser medium. These approaches were evaluated for application in four different measurements: cloud and aerosol scattering, water vapor sensing, ozone measurement, and wind velocity measurement using incoherent or 'edge' techniques. We projected the mass of each of these systems subject to the constraint of input power limited to 200 W total for the lidar source, as appropriate for smaller satellites. The mass of a single purpose sensor source is projected at 30 kgms to 40 kgms, while multi-purpose transmitters weight in the range of 70 kgms to 80 kgms. Operating pulse pair rates are driven strongly by the application nd the transmitter laser choice, with ozone being the most stressing application, providing the lowest PRF, approximately 7 Hz for on-line/off-line pulse pairs in the best case. We evaluate the risks.