Steward Observatory Radio Astronomy Laboratory

 

 

SORAL is a world leader in the development of terahertz (THz) systems for astronomy and other remote sensing applications. Instruments developed by SORAL have served as primary facility instruments at the Heinrich Hertz Telescope on Mt. Graham, AZ and the AST/RO telescope at the South Pole; as well as the HEAT observatory on Dome A, Antarctica.  SORAL designed and built the world’s largest (64 pixels) submillimeter-wave heterodyne array receiver (SuperCam).  SORAL led the NASA long duration balloon project STO, which flew in Antarctica in 2012 and 2016. SORAL is now leading GUSTO, a balloon-borne mission under the auspices of the NASA Explorer Program. In partnership with Optical Sciences, NASA, and aerospace companies, SORAL is pioneering next generation space telescopes utilizing gossamer optics. SORAL is also mentoring student teams involved in the UA/NASA CatSat CubeSat mission.