Teledyne Space Imaging awarded Payload Contract for the CAS instrument on LISA, the ESA Space Observatory mission

The UK imaging sensor manufacturer is using its well-established capabilities in detector technology and prowess in proximity electronics to deliver six CIS220 detectors and the control electronics for the international space observation project. Teledyne will do this in partnership with Thales Alenia Space in Switzerland, who will be responsible for the optical head.

LISA is a mission led by ESA, in partnership with their member states and NASA, who provide critical payload technology. LISA will be the first space-based observatory that is dedicated to studying gravitational waves, or ripples in the fabric of space-time, emitted during powerful events such as two black holes coming together and merging into one. In this capacity, the LISA mission will be the first of its kind to probe the entire history of the universe via gravitational waves and is the result of global co-operation between several leading space agencies, companies and organisations.

Specifically, the LISA CAS instrument, for which Teledyne Space Imaging is Prime Contractor, will help establish the interferometric laser links between spacecrafts positioned at the vertices of a triangular constellation and transform them into a single gravitational wave observatory. This will enable the mission to study the formation of compact binary stars and the structure of the Milky Way galaxy, as well as trace the origins and merger history of black holes and probe the rate of expansion of the universe.