A laser safety and hazard analysis was performed for the temperature stabilized Big Sky Laser Technology (BSLT) laser central to the ARES system based on the 2007 version of the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Standard Z136.1, for Safe Use of Lasers and the 2005 version of the ANSI Standard Z136.6, for Safe Use of Lasers Outdoors. The ARES laser system is a Van/Truck based mobile platform, which is used to perform laser interaction experiments and tests at various national test sites.

A laser safety and hazard analysis was performed for the ARES laser system based on the 2000 version of the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) Standard Z136.1,for Safe Use of Lasers and the 2000 version of the ANSI Standard Z136.6, for Safe Use of Lasers Outdoors. The ARES laser system is a Van/Truck based mobile platform, which is used to perform laser interaction experiments and tests at various national test sites.

The ANSI Z136.1 is a parent document and cornerstone of the Z136 series of laser safety standards, the Z136.1 is the foundation of laser safety programs for industrial, military, medical, and educational applications nationwide. Z136.1 provides guidance for the safe use of lasers and laser systems by defining control measures for each of seven laser hazard classifications. A practical means for accomplishing this is to (1) classify lasers and laser systems according to their relative hazards and to (2) specify appropriate controls for each classification Once a laser or laser system is properly classified, there should be no need to carry out tedious measurements or calculations to meet the provisions of this standard. However, technical information on measurements, calculations and biological effects is also provided within the standard and its appendixes.

A laser hazard analysis and safety assessment was performed for each various laser diode candidates associated with the High Resolution Pulse Scanner based on the ANSI Standard Z136.1-2000, American National Standard for the Safe Use of Lasers. A theoretical laser hazard analysis model for this system was derived and an Excel{reg_sign} spreadsheet model was developed to answer the 'what if questions' associated with the various modes of operations for the various candidate diode lasers.