OCSE (IOSS)

OCSE Canister [L'Garde]

OCSE [L'Garde]

OCSE (Optical Calibration Sphere Experiment) or IOSS (Inflatable Optical Sphere System), a 3.5m diameter inflatable sphere built by L'Garde Inc. for calibrating the lasers at the AFRL Starfire Optical Range.

The 0.48m long 0.41m diameter OCSE canister was ejected from the JAWSAT stack; 42 seconds later, with the canister clear of the other payloads, the canister door opened and 10 seconds after that inflation of the sphere began. The canister remains attached to the inflated sphere. Once inflated, the sphere's material becomes rigidized