DeMi

The Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission (DeMi) is a CubeSat that is currently orbiting in low Earth orbit. It was launched on February 15th, 2020 onboard Cygnus NG-13 and deployed from the International Space Station on July 13th, 2020.

I am currently operating the satellite through the MIT ground station, and have commanded over 300 overhead passes. I worked on the mechanical design, manufacturing, procurement, assembly, and testing of the payload. In December 2019, we finished the integration of our payload with the Blue Canyon Technologies bus and delivered the satellite to Nanoracks for integration with the deployer. The satellite is demonstrating the use of a deformable mirror on orbit. The mirror is able to flatten wavefronts from far away stars, increasing the contrast of the received light and allowing for more exoplanets to be directly imagined. Check the papers in my publication list to learn more about this amazing satellite!