Michigan Aerospace Corporation

Michigan Aerospace Corporation is an advanced engineering and products company that provides innovative optical, opto-mechanical, and mechanical components, as well as image processing, pattern recognition, and machine learning software, from conceptual design through production and implementation in the field. We are a provider of turn-key LIDAR systems for atmospheric measurements, optical air data systems, tunable etalons, nano-positioning systems, 2D and 3D data exploitation software tools, docking mechanisms for spacecraft, launch and retrieval systems for marine applications, flight qualification services, rapid prototyping and engineering services to meet the most demanding laboratory, aircraft and spaceflight needs.

Building on a very successful heritage of developing sensitive optical and opto-mechanical instruments as well as mechanical systems for spacecraft, aircraft, ground and marine applications, the staff at Michigan Aerospace Corporation has unique expertise in the following areas:

Based on our heritage of developing high-value components and systems (high quality at very competitive prices), Michigan Aerospace offers products in the following areas:

LIDAR: Light Detection and Ranging systems to measure the wind and constituents in the atmosphere from the ground, air, and space. Systems to improve the performance of manned and unmanned aircraft and weapon systems.
OPTICAL DIAGNOSTICS: Chem/Bio/Radiological/Nuclear and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Detection systems. Remote sensing and in-situ applications, including aerodynamic testing, micro-fluidics, and measurement of spectral signatures and cross-sections of biological simulants and agents.
DATA EXPLOITATIONS: 2D/3D Image processing, pattern recognition, machine learning, and visualization software.
MECHANICAL SYSTEMS: Systems to enable capture and deployment of autonomous vehicles operating in space and marine environments.
NEW INITIATIVES: Automated air and water monitoring for pollution and Homeland Security applications, tracking sensors, biomedical image processing.

Michigan Aerospace Corporation is the premier company in the United States for the development of Fabry-Perot interferometers and related optical systems, and holds patents on several devices that increase the efficiency of these instruments to unprecedented levels. Michigan Aerospace Corporation has expertise in all aspects of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems that measure atmospheric winds, from conception and simulation to implementation in the field. Modeling and simulation software allows accurate prediction of system performance and optimization of instrument designs based on validated code. The company can design, simulate, manufacture, integrate, test and field these instruments, for ground, aircraft or space applications. A similar capability exists in the design and development of LIDAR systems for use on Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), manned aircraft and weapon systems. Etalon and interferometer systems are also being developed for cryogenic applications. Michigan Aerospace Corporation is developing unique expertise in lightweight opto-mechanical structures, including the use of composites. Michigan Aerospace Corporation also has a long history in the design, manufacture and testing of autonomous docking mechanisms and sensor systems for on-orbit satellite servicing and inspection applications, and is now applying that technology to marine applications.

The Michigan Aerospace Corporation was formed in 1996 initially to commercialize technology developed at the University of Michigan's Space Physics Research Laboratory (SPRL). The experience of the engineers and scientists now at Michigan Aerospace Corporation includes the development of a series of space flight instruments that were flown on NASA scientific missions: the Visual Airglow Experiment flown on the Atmosphere Explorer -C, -D, -E; the Fabry-Perot Interferometer on Dynamics Explorer 2; the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS); the Robotic Material Processing System (RoMPS); an Autonomous Rendezvous and Docking (ARD) mission intended for the Commercial Experiment Transporter (COMET); and electronics, sensors and systems integration for the Propulsive Small Expendable Deployer System (ProSEDS).

Most recently, Michigan Aerospace staff provided the mechanical design and analysis for the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) instrument on the MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) satellite. FIPS measures particle count rates, energy distributions, velocity vector distributions, and mass spectra at a high time resolution (64s) and between 50 eV/e and 20 keV/e in energy. The instrument is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, pre-filtered with an electrostatic analyzer. MESSENGER spacecraft was launched on August 3, 2004 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. MESSENGER will be the first spacecraft to visit planet Mercury since Mariner 10 in 1975. MESSENGER is currently headed into its first orbit around the Sun. FIPS successfully made its first measurement of solar wind enroute to Mercury on April 15, 2005.

In addition to spaceflight, Michigan Aerospace staff have extensive experience in developing and testing instruments on aircraft (fixed and rotary wing) for proprietary programs. This technology base, together with patented technological advances, has led to a variety of R&D and Product offerings.

Michigan Aerospace Corporation’s headquarters is located in Ann Arbor, MI. The company has recently expanded its facilities by adding high-bay assembly and manufacturing space and has opened offices in Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA, and Phoenix, AZ. The company also supports two LIDAR ground stations, located in Bartlett, New Hampshire and on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. MAC has begun manufacturing operations for its core optical (LIDAR) product line. The company specializes in developing instruments for harsh environments and demanding platforms and has fielded instruments for spacecraft, aircraft, high-altitude balloon platforms, and the marine environment. MAC maintains dedicated design, fabrication, and test equipment to facilitate those activities. Facilities in Ann Arbor include two class 10,000 clean rooms, thermal chamber, optical assembly labs, electronics fabrication labs, fiber optic fabrication labs, and a wind tunnel, as well as an area dedicated to the secure storage of raw materials, work in progress and finished product. Laboratory assets include a significant repository of optical, opto-mechanical, and opto-electronic hardware; state-of-the-art diode-pumped and flash-lamp pumped lasers; optical, electronic and fiber optic fabrication, test and measurement equipment; local area 100base-T computer network with over 20 workstations; dedicated high-speed digital internet access lines and fire-walled, high-performance computer servers. MAC’s facilities meet federal and state of Michigan environmental laws and regulations for: airborne emissions, waterborne effluents, external radiation levels, outdoor noise, solid and bulk waste disposal practices, and handling and storage of toxic and hazardous materials. The company maintains a comprehensive suite of in-house atmospheric modeling and simulation software, including modeling of atmospheric scattering mechanisms, radiative transfer processes, chemistry of the atmosphere, and remote sensing instrument characterization. MAC is close to completing requirements for ISO-9000 and AS-9100 certification. Critical processes have been documented and procedures are in place for all aspects of the business: financial, legal, and technical operations. Commercial software packages include the following: