MIT Lincoln Laboratory

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MIT Lincoln Laboratory

A FFRDC that researches and develops advanced technologies to meet critical national security needs.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security.

05/28/2026

Orion Schaaff, a Cybersecurity Risk Manager at MIT Lincoln Laboratory was recently honored at Fenway Park during the Boston Red Sox "Hats Off to Heroes" in-game program for his dedicated service in the Active-Duty Marine Corps from 2012 to 2020. Thank you for your service, Orion!

Photos: Glen Cooper

05/27/2026

Artemis II live-streams hi-def videos and images from the Moon to Earth: This first use of laser communications on a crewed mission at lunar distance is a foundational step to establishing a high-speed internet in deep space.

Developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the onboard O2O payload was the space end of a high-speed laser communications (lasercom) link. "Our goal was to demonstrate O2O's operational utility for human spaceflight, extending the high-bandwidth connections that internet users enjoy on Earth to astronauts in deep space," says lead systems engineer Farzana Khatri, a senior staff member in Lincoln Laboratory's Optical and Quantum Communications Group.

05/26/2026

Here at Lincoln Laboratory, R&D begins with a difficult problem that we believe technology can solve. Behind our innovative R&D are people with exceptional technical abilities and creativity, working in cross-disciplinary teams to develop advanced technologies for diverse needs — for example, defending against missile threats, providing secure communications, monitoring activity in space, and even inventing biomedical devices.

✨ Explore our 12 research areas that focus on the development and prototyping of new technologies and capabilities for national security: https://ow.ly/uCAy50Z1b1Z

05/22/2026

🛰️ DYK: On 23 May 1973, Lincoln Laboratory presented critical radar imaging analysis to NASA, aiding in the repair and rescue of Skylab 1, the first U.S. space station. Shortly after launch on 14 May, NASA discovered several major issues: the micrometeorite and sun shield had torn away, one solar panel was missing, and the other was only partially deployed. These problems threatened the mission and the station’s ability to function.

NASA and the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) turned to Lincoln Laboratory for help. Using the ARPA Lincoln C-band Observables Radar (ALCOR) on Roi-Namur in the Kwajalein Atoll, Lincoln Laboratory acquired radar data during three tracks between 15–18 May. The team analyzed the station's condition using advanced radar imaging techniques and presented their findings to NASA officials on 23 May in Huntsville, Alabama. The analysis confirmed that the left solar panel was missing, the right panel was only partially deployed, and no bent or protruding sections of the micrometeorite shield were visible. Based on this information, NASA decided to send a crew to repair Skylab-1. After the crew successfully deployed the right solar panel and rigged a sun shield to prevent overheating, Lincoln Laboratory gathered additional radar data to confirm the corrected configuration.

📸:

05/21/2026

The Haystack 37m Telescope has been a landmark in radio astronomy and radar studies of the solar system since its first light in 1964. Over the following four decades, it supported NASA’s Apollo landings on the moon, made planetary radar maps of the surface of Venus, contributed to experimental tests of Einstein’s general relativity, supported the development of VLBI, and conducted foundational studies of quasars and star-forming regions.

Recently, the Haystack 37m Telescope — a 37-meter radio and millimeter-wavelength antenna at MIT Haystack Observatory in Westford, Massachusetts — made its return to front-line astronomical research following an extended period of system upgrades. These observations reconnect this instrument with its long tradition of scientific discovery and open a new chapter.

The upgraded Haystack 37m Telescope opens multiple new lines of research. At MIT, Saverio Cambioni and Richard Teague of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) plan to use the instrument within MIT’s Planetary Defense Project to measure asteroid sizes and shapes, characterizing objects that could pose a hazard to Earth and deepening our understanding of the solar system’s formation. Associate Professor Brett McGuire of the Department of Chemistry plans to search for complex organic molecules in space, work that speaks to the question of how the chemical precursors to life arise.

Read more via the link in the comments.

05/19/2026

Each year, Lincoln Laboratory recognizes the outstanding technical achievements of staff members through four awards: MIT Lincoln Laboratory Technical Excellence, Early Career Technical Achievement, Best Paper, and Best Invention Awards. Congratulations to this year’s award recipients!

🏆 Technical Excellence Awards:

-Dr. Erik K. Duerr
-Dr. Daniel J. Rabideau

🏆 Early Career Technical Achievement Awards:

-Luis E. Alvarez
-Dr. Lars A. Gjesteby

🏆 Best Paper Award:

Rohan T. Kapur, Dr. Pauli M. Kehayias, Dr. Sergey K. Tolpygo, Dr. Adam A. Libson, Dr. George S. Haldeman, Dr. Collin N. Muniz, Alexander N. Wynn (currently at MIT), Dr. Nathaniel J. O'Connor, Neel A. Parmar, Ryan C. Johnson, Andrew C. Maccabe (currently at Harvard University), Dr. John D. Cummings, Dr. Justin L. Mallek, Dr. Danielle A. Braje, and Dr. Jennifer M. Schloss for their paper "Flux Trapping Characterization for Superconducting Electronics Using a Cryogenic Widefield NV-Diamond Microscope," accepted to Physical Review Applied.

🏆 Best Invention Award:

Dr. Samuel C. Jero, Juliana M. Furgala, Dr. Richard W. Skowyra, Dr. Roger I. Khazan, and Dr. Bryan C. Ward (Vanderbilt University) for their invention "Magnetite: Real-Time Embedded Operating System."

For a list of previous recipients, visit our Awards & Recognition page: https://ow.ly/byBx50Z1C4G

📸: Glen Cooper

05/18/2026

A prototype wiring system for dilution refrigerators could advance the realization of practical quantum computers. https://ow.ly/p05C50Z1fK7

05/15/2026

DYK: The Lincoln Experimental Satellite (LES) program traces its origins to Project West Ford, conducted by Lincoln Laboratory in the early 1960s. After the Operation Hardtack nuclear tests disrupted the ionosphere over the Pacific and interrupted military satellite communications, Walter Morrow (Group 63, Space Techniques and Equipment) and Harold Meyer of TRW Inc. proposed a solution to maintain high-frequency radio communications during ionospheric disturbances.

The team designed Project West Ford to create a surrogate ionosphere by deploying millions of tiny copper dipoles into orbit. In May 1963, the second of two launches successfully transmitted high-frequency radio signals between ground terminals in Westford, Massachusetts, and Camp Parks, California, demonstrating the feasibility of high-frequency radio communications through orbiting objects.

Although Project West Ford succeeded, it relied on passive satellite communications, which required significant investment in ground terminals and offered limited capabilities. As the field shifted toward active satellite communications, Lincoln Laboratory began designing the Lincoln Experimental Satellites (LES) in 1963.

Pictured here are Vincent Sferrino (Group 62, Surface Techniques and Equipment) (left) and Walter Morrow (Group 63, Space Techniques and Equipment) preparing the dipole dispenser package for the May 1963 launch.

05/11/2026

This year’s Kids Day welcomed over 600 young participants for a two-day event dedicated to showcasing STEM in action. 👨‍🔬

Throughout the event, staff members from the Lincoln Laboratory community organized engaging and thought-provoking demonstrations. Students had the opportunity to explore a variety of activities, from building their own robots to launching bottle rockets!

At Lincoln Laboratory, we are dedicated to inspiring the next generation of innovators and nurturing a passion for science and technology. ✨🚀

📸: Glen Cooper and Nicole Fandel

05/08/2026

On 9 May 1962, researchers from Lincoln Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) performed the first ladar (laser radar) range measurements to the Moon. Led by Louis Smullin and MIT engineer Giorgio Fiocco, the team used a ruby laser to send light pulses to the lunar surface and successfully detected the faint, reflected pulses, marking the first successful round trip of a laser beam to the Moon.

Using a liquid nitrogen-cooled, photon-counting laser receiver and a 48-inch telescope, the team measured the round-trip time of the laser pulses, noting it took approximately two and a half seconds to travel nearly half a million miles. During the experiment, James Daley Jr. set up and operated the telescope (pictured above), located in Annex 4. This experiment demonstrated the potential of laser technology for future laser-based space communications, a prediction that proved accurate.

Today, Lincoln Laboratory continues to advance laser technology. On 1 April 2026, the Modular, Agile, Scalable Optical Terminal (MAScOT) laser communications terminal developed by Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center launched aboard the Artemis II Orion spacecraft for the historic moon mission.

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http://www.ll.mit.edu/

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