LACE (Losat-L)

LACE [NRL]

LACE (Low-Power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment), also Losat-L (Low Altitude Satellite)carried visible, infrared and phased sensors to measure distortions in laser beams targeting it from earth. The satellite, built by the Naval Research Laboratory, also carried an ultraviolet plume instrument to determine the best wavelengths to track rocket plumes, and an Army Background Experiment to measure neutron activity in space. Results from experiments aboard this satellite will aid in the design of laser defenses against missile threats. LACE was a gravity gradient stabilized spacecraft with attitude measurement accuracy better than 1 degree. The spacecraft was designed to operate the primary experiment for a 30-month lifetime. It was decommissioned on February 14, 1993.