StarLight space interferometer: optical design and performance modeling

Stefan R. Martin; Rhonda M. Morgan; Steven M. Gunter; Randall D. Bartos

doi:10.1117/12.460927

26 February 2003 The StarLight space interferometer: optical design and performance modeling

Stefan R. Martin, Rhonda M. Morgan, Steven M. Gunter, Randall D. Bartos

Proceedings Volume 4852, Interferometry in Space; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.460927
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

The StarLight mission aimed to place the first formation flying optical interferometer into space in year 2006. Utilizing two spacecraft to form a long baseline Michelson interferometer, it would measure white light fringes on a number of partially resolved stars of magnitudes >5 in the wavelength range 600 to 1000 nm. The interferometer baseline is variable between 30 and 125 m, and also has a fixed 1.3 m mode. The spacecraft are flown in a parabolic geometry which requires an optical delay line to build up more than 14 m of delay on one arm of the interferometer. To obtain high fringe visibility, starlight wavefront, pointing and intensity must be preserved through 22 reflections from mirrors and beamsplitters. The alignment of a total of 27 optics is maintained through careful thermal design and the use of two actuated mirrors on each arm. This paper describes the optical layout, including the beam combiner design which allows star tracking, optical system alignment and fringe formation on a single CCD. The effects of diffraction of the starlight transferred from a distant spacecraft and from optical surface imperfections are modeled. Other contributors to the visibility budget and the resulting variation of fringe visibility across the focal plane are discussed.

Citation Download Citation

Stefan R. Martin, Rhonda M. Morgan, Steven M. Gunter, and Randall D. Bartos "The StarLight space interferometer: optical design and performance modeling", Proc. SPIE 4852, Interferometry in Space, (26 February 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.460927

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