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Go for the gold You're likely familiar with the reflective gold visor in space helmets. Well, when it comes to gear the astronauts use, it really is gold. The coating is a thin layer of gold applied to a helmets inner visor. Astronauts need it for protection. Why? Because you want to reflect as much harmful infrared radiation as possible from the sun—and gold has extraordinary reflectivity. Additionally, it has excellent reliability and corrosion resistance. We all know that exposure to sunlight is bad for our skin. UV rays can do a lot of damage. The same goes for our...

Throughout our World Space Week series, we’ve talked about satellites, lasers, telescopes, software, and many other applications of our optical systems. We’ve also discussed the years of work and research and development that goes into creating them. Now, we’re turning our lens on a simple optical component that’s used in many of the devices that you use every day. It’s one that you’ve likely never noticed or considered—the retroreflector. Safety firstYou know, that plastic reflector you see on your bike, or the “cats’ eye” embedded in the road, or the shiny elements on your running shoes? They’re actually very interesting  pieces...

Esco started out as an optics supplier for amateur astronomers. And things just took off from there. Today, we work with NASA and other leading aeronautics organizations, helping to develop the optical technologies that are providing first looks at never before seen galaxies, light years away. Talk about moving up to the big leagues. Satellite optics on the launchpadThese new technologies are everywhere, from everyday items to satellites orbiting the Earth. The James Webb Space Telescope launched in Dec 2021 is the most sophisticated space telescope ever built with an estimated cost of $10 billion dollars. Space instrumentation is expensive and very complicated...

It’s World Space Week—Day 2. So, let’s start with some humor. Around the shop, we often joke that the best lasers are the ones mounted on sharks. But what’s better than shark-mounted lasers? Well, that’s easy. Space lasers (and no, we don’t mean the Death Star). Ok, back to space lasers. Real space lasers. We provide a lot of optics for lasers, and some of the baddest lasers are coming from our clients at NASA. These space lasers are capable of doing incredible things, including measuring surfaces and elevation from space. Precision performanceWhat makes the lasers so amazing is that they’re...

Can you imagine what it would be like if we never landed on the moon? How would we get all of these great observations about our planet? Most likely, we would have to rely on satellites which were actually the first things to go into space. The first satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union (now Russia) on October 4, 1950—exactly 67 years ago today. While only the size of a beach ball, that first satellite forever changed space exploration and set the stage for the space race between the USSR and the United States. Here’s a quick timeline...