used to correct for atmospheric turbulence, enabling high-resolution imaging through the telescope. The laser guide star is created by focusing a laser in the atmosphere and using the return light to sense and correct the turbulence that would otherwise preclude the high-resolution imaging, said Harold Schall, Boeing Laser & Electro-Optical Systems chief engineer and a Senior Technical Fellow. “You get a sample of light that goes off a series of mirrors and into an optics room where all the magic happens,” Schall said. Starfire Optical Range is just part of the high-tech community surrounding Boeing in and around Albuquerque. While a number of contractors work with Air Force personnel and military at the observatory—perched south of New Mexico’s largest city at 6,200 feet (1,880 meters) above sea level, not far from where the Sandia and Manzano mountains intersect— another 85 people are assigned to the Boeing Albuquerque site, occupying a sprawling white building that houses 13 different labs, all of which is located on the northern edge of town at 5,500 feet (1,670 meters) altitude. This elevated, southwestern region of the United States offers a melting pot of scientists and engineers with advanced degrees and industry credentials, a populace that has been in place since the onset of World War II. They fill up laboratories and research facilities for different organizations throughout the area, continually looking for ways to enhance modern civilization, space navigation and military technologies used to protect freedom. Boeing has a significant presence. “It’s a great place for productivity,” said David DeYoung, Laser & Electro- Optical Systems director, Boeing Albuquerque, of the desert’s advantages. “It has the dry climate, high elevation and available test ranges.” Sandia National Laboratory and the Air Force Research Laboratory, which develop war-fighting capabilities and technologies, are located inside the 57,000-acre (23,000-hectare) 20 | BOEING FRONTIERS Kirtland Air Force Base. Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the first atomic bomb was created and which remains one of the world’s largest scientific institutions, is 100 miles (160 kilometers) north. White Sands Missile Range, the largest American military installation anywhere, is 150 miles (240 kilometers) south. Alamogordo, the first nuclear weapons test site, and Holloman Air Force Base, which has been home to some of the U.S. military’s most advanced aircraft, are 200 miles (320 kilometers) to the southeast. With so many resources close at hand, project crossover that involves Boeing and its desert neighbors is a regular occurrence, according to Mario Alleva, Boeing Embedded Systems manager. “It’s a very tightknit community of technology in New Mexico,” Alleva said. “You work with people for decades. I’ve worked with people at the Air Force Research Lab since I was 18. I still coordinate with them.” At Starfire Optical Range, a red warning sign flashes outside the doorway to the telescope whenever a laser is in use. A floor below, SOR employees occupy a control room and operate camera and adaptive optics systems. Clocks are set to Greenwich Mean Time, the benchmark for
Frontiers May 2016 Issue
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