A variety of laser applications in space, past, present, future and far future are reviewed together with the contributions of some of the scientists and engineers involved, especially those that happen to have South African connections. Historically, two of the earliest laser applications in space, were atmospheric LIDAR and lunar ranging. These applications involved atmospheric physicists, se...

This paper presents a method implemented in a system for automatic contactless calibration of gauge blocks designed at ISI ASCR. The system combines low-coherence interferometry and laser interferometry, where the first identifies the gauge block sides position and the second one measures the gauge block length itself. A crucial part of the system is the algorithm for gauge block alignment to t...

We describe an interferometric method that enables to measure the optical path delay between two consecutive femtosecond laser pulses by way of dispersive interferometry. This method allows a femtosecond laser to be utilized as a source of performing absolute distance measurements to unprecedented precision over extensive ranges. Our test result demonstrates a non-ambiguity range of ~1.46 mm wi...

Self-mixing interferometer is a suitable tool for implementing industrial sensors, with the advantages of optical techniques, such as high accuracy and contactless operation, but at potential very-low cost. This paper describes some techniques recently developed for realizing vibration measurements, based on different signal elaborations and with different performances and applications. Particu...

INTRODUCTION Laser interferometry has become a staple of SItraceable displacement measurement techniques. This, combined with decreasing cost per channel, miniaturization, and a multitude of commercially available off-the-shelf systems, creates ever more attractive applications unheard-of a few years ago. Although significant efforts have been made to shrink the size of optical components neces...