Abstract

The design and use of a large millimeter facility for construction on the planned Space Station (the Space Station Millimeter Facility, SSMF) will be described. A facility consisting of a number of small antennas distributed over the structure of the Station and linked to form a coherent interferometric array operating at millimeter-submillimeter wavelengths will have manifold applications in both basic and applied research. Earth surface surveying, atmospheric studies, communications research, and, especially, astronomy will be greatly enhanced by such an instrument.

© 1988 Optical Society of America