Prototype telescope launched to the International Space Station

A prototype telescope designed and built by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has been launched to the International Space Station.

The SOHIP instrument will be installed as part of the Department of Defense's Space Test Program-Houston 9 platform once it is aboard the ISS.

The instrument will measure atmospheric gravity waves and turbulence like ocean waves crashing on a beach.

A feasibility study is investigating whether SOHIP data can be combined with data from three other instruments on the ISS to measure atmospheric gravity waves that perturb the upper atmosphere.

Characterizing the gravity waves will allow us to better understand upper atmosphere conditions and constrain models of atmospheric circulation.