Working for NASA has some unique challenges that are assisted by developments in portable metrology, and the software program SpatialAnalyzer. “Everything we make is one of a kind, so we’ve got to get it right. These are billion dollar projects,” said Henry Sampler, an optical physicist for NASA Goddard in Maryland. Right now, Sampler is working on two projects: the James Webb Space Telescope that will replace Hubble in 2014, and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that will soon be mapping the surface of the moon. Each of these projects needs the precision metrology that SpatialAnalyzer brings to the process.

The goal of the LRO project is to fi nd good landing sites on the moon, as well as locating topographical features and resources. This is done through creating an atlas of the moon through different cameras mounted on space craft. The images get stitched together, and Sample says that’s where SA comes in. “You have to know how the cameras point relative to the instrument, so that we can tell where we are in relation to the sun, the earth, and the stars. I’ve made a model of the LRO, with all of the bore site vectors relative to each other, which helps the science group to get their bearings,” Sampler said.

In SpatialAnalyzer, Sampler creates a model, including all the pointing measurements that have been collected, describing the instruments orientations. “It helps prevent errors, and I used to send pages and pages of data and info to my altitude control guys, now I send a visual model through SA,” he said. Sampler also said that his SA shortcuts save time and that it’s easy for him to share data with his team through SpatialAnalyzer, especially using the FREE SA Viewer download. In working on the Hubble Space Telescope Project, the crew used SA to fi t measurements to the model allowing us to verify that the instruments would fit in when replaced on the Hubble Space Telescope.

Over at NASA Langley in Virginia, SpatialAnalyzer is also advancing innovation. Richard Chattin, a Senior Technician in the Material Processing and Precision Measurements Section, works with metrology devices everyday because his department works with composite modeling development. They are using Leica laser trackers for measurements on the Orion space capsule, specifically the 4-bay crew module.

“We had several trackers with different software, but now we are using SA, which has better support and can be used on all of the equipment,” Chattin said. He also said that the reports generated in SA are more sophisticated. “It’s very powerful software, and I know I haven’t even scratched the surface. I’m looking forward to sitting down and learning more about all the functions,” he said.

Of course, NASA faces tough internal audit procedures and SA offers more efficiency, reporting