JULY 28--Recently the comet Tempel 1 slammed into the impactor of the NASA Deep Impact Program providing a spectacularly bright flash of light. The collision, which occurred 83 million miles from Earth, marks the first time a spacecraft has come in contact with a comet. Its mission: to determine the structure and composition of a comet.
The Deep Impact spacecraft was composed of two probes mated together--the "fly-by" and "impactor." Aboard both the fly-by and impactor were Fairchild Imaging (www.fairchildimaging.com) CCDs recording all the visible imagery for the mission. These custom CCDs reside on the fly-by's medium-resolution and high-resolution cameras as well as the impactor's targeting sensor instrument.
The CCD image sensors supplied for the mission were custom designed 1024 x 1024, 21-μm pixel, split-frame transfer devices. The CCD, often referred to as a focal plane array (FPA), provides excellent imagery in low-light-level environments. Fairchild Imaging back-illuminated CCD technology enabled these FPAs to provide superior quantum efficiency and sensitivity across the entire visible light spectrum. In addition to superb image quality these FPAs also required space qualification. To be space qualified, the FPA must have special packaging and testing to ensure that it will survive the harsh environs of space.
The University of Maryland is responsible for overall Deep Impact mission science, and project management is handled by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation (Boulder, CO).
To learn more about the Deep Impact mission refer to deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov. For additional information, contact Brad Ostman at Fairchild Imaging, Milpitas, CA, 408-433-2552.