AUSTIN (KXAN) — Deep beneath the surface in a quiet corner of the basement of the Physics, Math and Astronomy building of the University of Texas at Austin, lasers blast electronics with simulated cosmic rays.
TAU Systems builds laser-plasma accelerators, capable of stripping atoms of their electrons. Across the lab they share with UT Professor Mike Downer, a laser system takes a beam of light and alters it.
“You start with a really, really short laser pulse, something like 25 femtoseconds, which is 25 times 10 to the minus 15 seconds,” team lead Philip Franke said.
It is his job to get this pulse across the room and to a target. After bouncing across mirrors, being split apart, put back together and growing the beam from a hair’s width to a couple of inches – the laser strikes a puff of gas and is stripped of its electrons.
Carried like a wave, the electrons strike a piece of electronics. If fried, the electronics will likely not survive a trip to space.
“Particles strike the devices and can upset them, can damage them or or make them not work,” TAU Systems Vice President Stephen Milton said.
Why would you want to do all of this? According to Milton, electronics used in deep space today are about thirty years behind what we have on Earth.
“If you want to do something like AI in space, you really can’t do that right now. You need to sit there and wait. And so the idea was to try to leapfrog that,” Milton said.
Quicker than a ray of light
TAU Systems, founded by Professor Bjorn Manuel Hegelich, aims to help accelerate testing.
Currently, Milton said, engineers can test a device’s space readiness by subjecting it to heavy ion accelerators. These devices are massive. TAU uses an accelerator that is much smaller.
By testing electronics, engineers can determine if shielding is working. Testing can also help guide construction of microchips, to prevent damage on a smaller level.
They’ll soon open a service center in Carlsbad, California, where companies like Space X can send their electronics for testing. Eventually, they plan to sell their accelerator to companies, giving them the option to build their own laser system and strip atoms of electrons themselves.
The company recently received a contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Under that contract, TAU will participate in the DARPA’s Advanced Sources for Single Event Effect Radiation Testing (ASSERT) initiative.
That initiative aims to test the resilience of electronics in deep space environments. TAU will develop new accelerator technology to support the initiative and simulate space-like conditions.
The future of Texas Space travel
This technology is just one of many recent leaps in the space industry. The state is helping push this further through the Texas Space Commission’s SEARFs grant program.
This week, the TSC announced an additional $41 million will be granted to several aerospace companies. The companies can use these funds to further the space industry in Texas and develop new technologies.
Those companies include:
- Blue Origin – $7 million granted
- Firefly Aerospace – $8.2 million granted
- Intuitive Machines – $10 million granted
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp. – $7.5 million granted
- Starlab Space – $15 million granted
The TSC board plans to meet again in March. More grant announcements will be made at that time.
The TSC was established as part of 88th legislative session. $150 million was approved by the Texas Legislature for grant applications.
