Hovemere News

Hovemere evaluates new Alexandrite Laser

Hovemere has used its expertise in Lidar development and use to support evaluation of the exciting new diode-pumped Alexandrite Laser developed by Midaz Lasers for space-based remote sensing. View original press release.

Hovemere to build Lidar System to Improve Aircraft Safety

Hovemere has joined the consortium of the FP7 project 'Green-Wake' and will take responsibility for designing and building the Lidar system for detection of wake vortexes and wind shear which is being developed as part of that project. Wake vortexes and wind shear are potential causes of accidents and injuries to passengers and crew of all aircraft types, particularly during takeoff and landing. Successful development of the Green-Wake system would also offer an opportunity to improve the efficiency of the world's busiest airports, reducing journey times and passenger delays.

There are currently few options for protection against these two meteorological phenomena, and the main way of reducing accidents is to impose mandatory separation times between aircraft which can affect the operating performance of airports. Wake vortex and wind shear detection is therefore the focus of research programmes funded within Europe and the US and the Lidar technique (LIght Detection And Ranging) has already been shown to offer a technical solution for detection.

The Green-Wake project is a collaborative project funded by the European Commission which will develop and test an on-board short-range (50-100m) Imaging Doppler Lidar system that is capable of detecting and measuring wake vortexes and wind shear phenomena in front of an aircraft. The aim of the project is to develop a system suitable for integration into a commercial aircraft, but also to look at how data are to be supplied to the aircrew most effectively. The project involves 11 partners from 9 countries and is led by Sula Systems.

More information on the project can be found at www.greenwake.org.

Development of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT)

A milestone has been passed in the development of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) with the delivery of the conceptual design of the Adaptive Optics Calibration Unit (AOCU) for this instrument. Hovemere has been collaborating with Active Space Technologies S.A. from Portugal to design this critical instrument which will allow the groundbreaking E-ELT to reach its full potential.

The AOCU provides internal light sources to assist the operation of the innovative deformable mirror that allows the E-ELT to deliver its exceptional image quality. "Designing and building calibration instrumentation for the biggest optical telescope yet conceived is a huge technical challenge," says Mark Aston, Optical Engineer at Hovemere, "You can guarantee that the engineering challenges will push the boundaries of instrumentation design and construction".

The E-ELT itself is a 42 metre diameter optical telescope. Its mirror, composed of nearly 1000 individual hexagonal segments, will be able to gather 15 times more light than the largest optical telescope operating today. It will tackle many of the biggest scientific challenges of modern astronomy including tracking down Earth-like planets in the 'habitable zones' around other stars where life could exist.

Hovemere is still going strong

Hovemere Ltd is pleased to confirm that despite the recent closure of Lidar Technologies, Hovemere itself is unaffected and continues to offer high-performance opto-electronic systems including lidar systems and etalons, to current and future customers. Hovemere has also been able to offer employment contracts to all the technical staff affected by the recent changes. David Rees and the other members of the Hovemere team look forward to hearing from you.

ALOMAR Observatory - Northern Norway

At the ALOMAR Observatory in Northern Norway, Hovemere developed and demonstrated the capability to make daytime measurements of the Atmosphere with the Doppler Wind and Temperature Sensor, the Rayleigh / Mie / Raman Lidar, and also with the Ozone Lidar System. Many of our instruments have been space qualified and this is reflected in our worldwide client base, which includes NASA, ESA and JAXA. Our instruments exploit a combination of technologies such as state of the art opto-electronics and specialised custom software. We are currently developing, in collaboration with European partners, airborne systems for measuring the true air speed and direction of a high-performance aircraft, and for the detection of Clear Air Turbulence and Wake Vortex.

Hovemere is currently building the High Resolution Spectral Analyser

Hovemere is currently building the High Resolution Spectral Analyser for the Swedish Solar Telescope at La Palma, Canary Islands. This high-performance optical system will resolve magnetic fields and velocity distributions within the solar photosphere, limited only by the resolution of the 1 metre aperture SST.

Hovemere designs and fabricates the Mercury Sodium Atmosphere Spectral Imager (MSASI)

Hovemere is responsible for the design and fabrication of the Mercury Sodium Atmosphere Spectral Imager (MSASI), under contract from University of Tokyo and JAXA. MSASI will be flown on the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter of the joint ESA / JAXA Bepi-Colombo Mission to Planet Mercury, to be launched in 2013. MSASI will measure the sodium emissions of the Mercury atmosphere, studying the generation mechanisms for sodium at the surface, the evolution within the atmosphere (or exosphere), and ultimate loss to interplanetary space.

For information on any of our projects, please contact us.