Technical 2.1 What are the technical tall poles for LISA?
• Three important technologies for LISA are • Gravitational Reference Sensor (GRS) – The GRS is the test mass assembly with supporting subsystems. Those subsystems include the test mass itself, the reference housing with sensing and forcing electrodes, the front-end electronics for sensing and forcing, the charge sensing and control subsystem, the caging subsystem and the vacuum system. The LISA Pathfinder (LPF) qualification model, which is designed to meet the LISA requirements, has been built and tested to verify that it meets all requirements for LPF. The flight model is built, and is currently undergoing integration. The LISA GRS performance will be further demonstrated on-orbit by the LISA Pathfinder mission. • The micronewton thrusters – These quiet, finely adjustable thrusters are the actuators used in the drag-free control system to position the spacecraft. The LISA Pathfinder mission will demonstrate the performance of two different microthruster technologies on-orbit, except
