To guide a lander of Moon or Mars exploration spacecraft during the stage of descent onto a desired place, optic sensors have been chosen to take the task, which include optic cameras and laser distance meters. However, such optic sensors are sensitive to vibrations, especially angular vibrations, from the lander. To reduce the risk of abnormal function and ensure the performance of optic sensors, ground simulations are necessary. More importantly, the simulations can be used as a method for examining the sensor performance and finding possible improvement on the sensor design. In the present paper, we proposed an angular vibration simulation method during the landing. This simulation method has been realized into product and applied to optic sensor tests for the moon lander. This simulator can generate random angular vibration in a frequency range from 0 to 2000Hz, the control precision is ±1dB, and the linear translational speed can be set to the required descent speed. The operation and data processing methods of this developed simulator are the same as a normal shake table. The analysis and design methods are studied in the present paper, and test results are also provided.

With the upcoming of TMA or FMA (Three or Four Mirrors Anastigmat) telescope design in Earth Observation system, stray light is a major contributor to the degradation of the image quality. Numerous sources of stray light can be identified and theoretically evaluated. Nevertheless in order to build a stray light model of the instrument, the Point Spread Function(s) of the instrument, i.e., the flux response of the instrument to the flux received at the instrument entrance from an infinite distant point source needs to be determined.

This paper presents a conceptual design of a facility placed in a vacuum chamber to eliminate undesired air particles scatter light sources. The specification of the clean room class or vacuum will depend on the required rejection to be measured. Once the vacuum chamber is closed, the stray light level from the external environment can be considered as negligible. Inside the chamber a dedicated baffle design is required to eliminate undesired light generated by the set up itself e.g. retro reflected light away from the instrument under test. This implies blackened shrouds all around the specimen. The proposed illumination system is a 400 mm off axis parabolic mirror with a focal length of 2 m. The off axis design suppresses the problem of stray light that can be generated by the internal obstruction. A dedicated block source is evaluated in order to avoid any stray light coming from the structure around the source pinhole. Dedicated attention is required on the selection of the source to achieve the required large measurement dynamic.

Deformation metrology of complex and large space reflectors is a recurrent problem addressed by ESA. The challenging tasks of on-ground qualification and verification testing are to achieve the required accuracy in the measurement of these reflectors deformation and to verify their performance under simulated space conditions (vacuum, low temperature).

A long-wave infrared digital holographic interferometer for the verification and validation of this type of reflector in a space environment is presented. It has been developed to fill the gap between holography/interferometry techniques in the visible wavelengths and methods based on structured light illumination like videogrammetry, stereocorrelation, and fringe/pattern projection. The former provide a good measurement uncertainty but the displacements are often too large to be measured and they require a very stable environment, while the latter provide large measurement range but with higher measurement uncertainty.

The new instrument is based on digital holography and uses a CO₂ lasers emitting at 10.6μm combined with a commercial thermographic camera. A diffuser is illuminated by the laser beam, producing a speckle wavefront which is observed after reflection on the reflector surface. This reflected speckle wavefront behaves exactly as if the reflector was a diffusive surface, producing its own speckle, allowing the measurement of its deformation. The advantage of this configuration compared to a classical interferometer working at 10.6μm, is that it requires no specific optics such as a null lens (in the case of parabola) or expensive illumination/collection optics (in the case of ellipse).

The metrological certification of the system was performed in the laboratory by measuring the tilts of a 1.1 meter diameter parabolic reflector. The displacements are measured in parallel with a Doppler effect interferometer and the measurement uncertainty is estimated. The technique has been certified during a thermal-vacuum test. The deformation of the parabolic reflector is measured for a temperature variation from 288 K down to 113 K. The results are compared to previous results obtained on the same reflector with a high spatial resolution infrared interferometer, also developed at CSL.

The TARANIS microsatellite – CNES, Myriade family - is dedicated to the study of the impulsive transfers of energy between the Earth atmosphere and the space environment, including transient phenomena such as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) and Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs). It observes from above thunderstorm areas. Part of the payload, the “MicroCameras and Photometers” (MCP) instrument is in charge of the remote sensing of TLEs in terms of optical imaging and waveforms. Its objectives are to identify and characterize lightning flashes and TLEs in optical wavelengths, to determine spectral properties and to provide an alert to all TARANIS instruments for common TLE observations at high resolution. The purpose of this paper is to describe the methodology to observe TLEs from the nadir and to detail the specifications and performances of the MCP instrumentation.

PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillation of stars) is a candidate for the M3 Medium-size mission of the ESA Cosmic Vision programme (2015-2025 period). It is aimed at Earth-size and Earth-mass planet detection in the habitable zone of bright stars and their characterisation using the transit method and the asterosismology of their host star. That means observing more than 100 000 stars brighter than magnitude 11, and more than 1 000 000 brighter than magnitude 13, with a long continuous observing time for 20 % of them (2 to 3 years). This yields a need for an unusually long term signal stability. For the brighter stars, the noise requirement is less than 34 ppm.hr^-1/2, from a frequency of 40 mHz down to 20 μHz, including all sources of noise like for instance the motion of the star images on the detectors and frequency beatings. Those extremely tight requirements result in a payload consisting of 32 synchronised, high aperture, wide field of view cameras thermally regulated down to -80°C, whose data are combined to increase the signal to noise performances. They are split into 4 different subsets pointing at 4 directions to widen the total field of view; stars in the centre of that field of view are observed by all 32 cameras. 2 extra cameras are used with color filters and provide pointing measurement to the spacecraft Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) loop. The satellite is orbiting the Sun at the L2 Lagrange point. This paper presents the optical, electronic and electrical, thermal and mechanical designs devised to achieve those requirements, and the results from breadboards developed for the optics, the focal plane, the power supply and video electronics.

The Lightning Imager for Meteosat Third Generation is an optical payload with on-board data processing for the detection of lightning.

The instrument will provide a global monitoring of lightning events over the full Earth disk from geostationary orbit and will operate in day and night conditions.

The requirements of the large field of view together with the high detection efficiency with small and weak optical pulses superimposed to a much brighter and highly spatial and temporal variable background (full operation during day and night conditions, seasonal variations and different albedos between clouds oceans and lands) are driving the design of the optical instrument.

The main challenge is to distinguish a true lightning from false events generated by random noise (e.g. background shot noise) or sun glints diffusion or signal variations originated by microvibrations. This can be achieved thanks to a ‘multi-dimensional’ filtering, simultaneously working on the spectral, spatial and temporal domains.

The spectral filtering is achieved with a very narrowband filter centred on the bright lightning O2 triplet line (777.4 nm ± 0.17 nm). The spatial filtering is achieved with a ground sampling distance significantly smaller (between 4 and 5 km at sub satellite pointing) than the dimensions of a typical lightning pulse. The temporal filtering is achieved by sampling continuously the Earth disk within a period close to 1 ms.

This paper presents the status of the optical design addressing the trade-off between different configurations and detailing the design and the analyses of the current baseline. Emphasis is given to the discussion of the design drivers and the solutions implemented in particular concerning the spectral filtering and the optimisation of the signal to noise ratio.

The PLEIADES program is a space Earth Observation system led by France, under the leadership of the French Space Agency (CNES). Since it was successfully launched on December 17^th, 2011, Pleiades 1A high resolution optical satellite has been thoroughly tested and validated during the commissioning phase led by CNES. The whole system has been designed to deliver submetric optical images to users whose needs were taken into account very early in the design process. This satellite opens a new era in Europe since its off-nadir viewing capability delivers a worldwide 2- days access, and its great agility will make possible to image numerous targets, strips and stereo coverage from the same orbit. Its imaging capability of more than 450 images of 20 km x 20 km per day can fulfill a broad spectrum of applications for both civilian and defence users.

For an earth observing satellite with no on-board calibration source, the commissioning phase is a critical quest of wellcharacterized earth landscapes and ground patterns that have to be imaged by the camera in order to compute or fit the parameters of the viewing models. It may take a long time to get the required scenes with no cloud, whilst atmosphere corrections need simultaneous measurements that are not always possible.

The paper focuses on new in-flight calibration methods that were prepared before the launch in the framework of the PLEIADES program : they take advantage of the satellite agility that can deeply relax the operational constraints and may improve calibration accuracy. Many performances of the camera were assessed thanks to a dedicated innovative method that was successfully validated during the commissioning period : Modulation Transfer Function (MTF), refocusing, absolute calibration, line of sight stability were estimated on stars and on the Moon. Detectors normalization and radiometric noise were computed on specific pictures on Earth with a dedicated guidance profile. Geometric viewing frame was determined with a particular image acquisition combining different views of the same target.

All these new methods are expected to play a key role in the future when active optics will need sophisticated in-flight calibration strategy.

The MSI EM campaign has been conducted before releasing the flight model integration and test. This paper presents the MSI EM configuration and the various tests results. Experience gained through this extensive test program allowed securing the MSI PFM integration and test activities.

Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager (GOCI) is the first Ocean Colour Imager to operate from a Geostationary Orbit. It was developed by Astrium SAS under KARI contract in about 3 years between mid 2005 and October 2008 and integrated on-board COMS satellite end 2008 aside the COMS Meteo Imager (MI). COMS satellite was launched in June 2010 and the in-orbit commissioning tests were completed in beginning of 2011.

The mission is designed to significantly improve ocean observation in complement with low orbit service by providing high frequency coverage. The GOCI is designed to provide multi-spectral data to detect, monitor, quantify, and predict short-term changes of coastal ocean environment for marine science research and application purpose. Target area for the GOCI observation in the COMS satellite covers a large 2500 x 2500 km2 sea area around the Korean Peninsula, with an average Ground sampling distance (GSD) of 500m, corresponding to a NADIR GSD of 360m.

The presentation will shortly recall the mission objectives and major instrument requirements, and then present the results of inorbit testing and validations. All functions and in particular the CMOS detector matrix operate nominally. Performances evaluated in orbit (SNR, MTF, etc.) show results above the requirements. Finally, in-orbit calibrations using the sun diffuser provide very satisfactory consistency with the ground characterisation. GOCI is now delivering operational products and proving the interest of Geo observation in the Ocean Colour applications

ESA is currently running two parallel, competitive phase A/B1 studies for MetOp Second Generation (MetOp-SG). MetOp-SG is the space segment of EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS-SG) consisting of the satellites and instruments. The Phase A/B1 studies will be completed in the first quarter of 2013. The final implementation phases (B2/C/D) are planned to start 2013. ESA is responsible for instrument design of five missions, namely Microwave Sounding Mission (MWS), Scatterometer mission (SCA), Radio Occultation mission (RO), Microwave Imaging mission (MWI), Ice Cloud Imaging (ICI) mission, and Multiviewing, Multi-channel, Multi-polarization imaging mission (3MI). This paper will present the instrument main design elements of the 3MI mission, primarily aimed at providing aerosol characterization for climate monitoring, Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), atmospheric chemistry and air quality. The 3MI instrument is a passive radiometer measuring the polarized radiances reflected by the Earth under different viewing geometries and across several spectral bands spanning the visible and short-wave infrared spectrum. The paper will present the main performances of the instrument and will concentrate mainly on the performance improvements with respect to its heritage derived by the POLDER instrument. The engineering of some key performance requirements (multiviewing, polarization sensitivity, etc.) will also be discussed.

PMS (panchromatic/multi-spectral) camera is one of the main payloads of the ZY-1(02C) satellite. It is a new generation camera of multi-spectral bands, which is developed by Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics & Electricity (BISME). PMS camera has one panchromatic band with 5m GSD, 3 multispectral bands with 10m GSD at nadir. The swath of camera is 60 km. It also has the sight capability of ±32°.

On the December 22nd in 2011, ZY-1(02C) satellite was launched up successfully. PMS camera operates well and the image is good.

This paper gives the design and verification in the laboratory of the PMS camera. The test results show that the PMS camera satisfies the requirements.

The Compact Infrared Camera (CIRC) is an instrument equipped with an uncooled infrared array detector (microbolometer). We adopted the microbolometer, because it does not require a cooling system such as a mechanical cooler, and athermal optics, which does not require an active thermal control of optics. This can reduce the size, cost, and electrical power consumption of the sensor.

The main mission of the CIRC is to demonstrate the technology for detecting wildfire, which are major and chronic disasters affecting many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It is possible to increase observational frequency of wildfires, if CIRCs are carried on a various satellites by taking advantages of small size and light weight.

We have developed two CIRCs. The first will be launched in JFY 2013 onboard Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS- 2), and the second will be launched in JFY 2014 onboard CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) at the International Space Station(ISS). We have finished the ground Calibration of the first CIRC onboard ALOS-2. In this paper, we provide an overview of the CIRC and its results of ground calibration.

PROBA V is an ESA mission devoted to the observation of the Earth’s vegetation, providing data continuity with the Spot 4 and 5 vegetation payloads. Thanks to the heritage of the Proba series, the satellite’s platform is smaller than a cubic metre, accommodating the main payload, i.e. the Vegetation Instrument (VI), and some technology demonstrators. The VI extremely wide viewing swath, together with a polar low Earth orbit, enables daily revisits during 2.5 years, with a possible extension to 5 years. The mission, whose satellite is developed by Belgian QuinetiQ Space, is actually in Phase D and the targeted launch is early 2013 with the VEGA launcher.

The Vegetation Instrument is a high spatial resolution pushbroom 4 spectral bands imager composed of three distinct Spectral Imagers (SI). Each SI has 34° Field Of View (FOV) across track, and the total FOV of the VI is 102°, covering an Earth swath of 2260 Km with ground sampling distance down to 96 m at Nadir for VNIR bands.

The spectral bands are centred around 460 nm for the blue, 655 nm for the red, 845nm for the NIR and 1600 nm for the SWIR. The imaging telescope is built from a Three-Mirrors Anastigmat (TMA) configuration, including two highly aspheric mirrors. The optics is manufactured from special grade aluminium by diamond turning. The material being identical to the whole structure, no defocus or stresses build up with temperature variations in flight.

This paper gives an overview of the VI performances, and focuses on the results of the optical tests and on-ground calibrations.

The PERSEE breadboard, developed by a consortium including CNES, IAS, LESIA, OCA, ONERA and TAS since 2006, is a nulling demonstrator that couples an infrared nulling interferometer with a formation flying simulator able to introduce realistic disturbances in the set-up. The general idea is to prove that an adequate optical design can considerably release the constraints applied at the spacecrafts level of a future interferometric space mission like Darwin/TPF or one of its precursors. The breadboard is now fully operational and the measurements sequences are managed from a remote control room using automatic procedures. A set of excellent results were obtained in 2011: the measured polychromatic nulling depth with non polarized light is 8.8x10^-6 stabilized at 9x10^-8 in the [1.65-2.45] μm spectral band (37% bandwidth) during 100s. This result was extended to a 7h duration thanks to an automatic calibration process. The various contributors are identified and the nulling budget is now well mastered. We also proved that harmonic disturbances in the 1-100Hz up to several tens of nm rms can be very efficiently corrected by a Linear Quadratic Control (LQG) if a sufficient flux is available. These results are important contributions to the feasibility of a future space based nulling interferometer.

The coronagraph/spectrometer METIS (Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy), selected to fly aboard the Solar Orbiter ESA/NASA mission, is conceived to perform imaging (in visible, UV and EUV) and spectroscopy (in EUV) of the solar corona. It is an integrated instrument suite located on a single optical bench and sharing a unique aperture on the satellite heat shield. As every coronagraph, METIS is highly demanding in terms of stray light suppression. In order to meet the strict thermal requirements of Solar Orbiter, METIS optical design has been optimized by moving the entrance pupil at the level of the external occulter on the S/C thermal shield, thus reducing the size of the external aperture. The scheme is based on an inverted external-occulter (IEO). The IEO consists of a circular aperture on the Solar Orbiter thermal shield. A spherical mirror rejects back the disk-light through the IEO. The experience built on all the previous space coronagraphs forces designers to dedicate a particular attention to the occulter optimization. Two breadboards were manufactured to perform occulter optimization measurements: BOA (Breadboard of the Occulting Assembly) and ANACONDA (AN Alternative COnfiguration for the Occulting Native Design Assembly). A preliminary measurement campaign has been carried on at the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille. In this paper we describe BOA and ANACONDA designs, the laboratory set-up and the preliminary results.

SPICA (Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics) is an astronomical mission optimized for mid-and far-infrared astronomy with a cryogenically cooled 3-m class telescope, envisioned for launch in early 2020s. Mid-infrared Camera and Spectrometer (MCS) is a focal plane instrument for SPICA with imaging and spectroscopic observing capabilities in the mid-infrared wavelength range of 5-38μm. MCS consists of two relay optical modules and following four scientific optical modules of WFC (Wide Field Camera; 5'x 5' field of view, f/11.7 and f/4.2 cameras), LRS (Low Resolution Spectrometer; 2'.5 long slits, prism dispersers, f/5.0 and f/1.7 cameras, spectral resolving power R ∼ 50-100), MRS (Mid Resolution Spectrometer; echelles, integral field units by image slicer, f/3.3 and f/1.9 cameras, R ∼ 1100-3000) and HRS (High Resolution Spectrometer; immersed echelles, f/6.0 and f/3.6 cameras, R ∼ 20000-30000). Here, we present optical design and expected optical performance of MCS. Most parts of MCS optics adopt off-axis reflective system for covering the wide wavelength range of 5-38μm without chromatic aberration and minimizing problems due to changes in shapes and refractive indices of materials from room temperature to cryogenic temperature. In order to achieve the high specification requirements of wide field of view, small F-number and large spectral resolving power with compact size, we employed the paraxial and aberration analysis of off-axial optical systems (Araki 2005 [1]) which is a design method using free-form surfaces for compact reflective optics such as head mount displays. As a result, we have successfully designed compact reflective optics for MCS with as-built performance of diffraction-limited image resolution.

Lightweight X-ray Wolter optics with a high angular resolution will enable the next generation of X-ray telescopes in space. The candidate mission ATHENA (Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics) required a mirror assembly of 1 m₂ effective area (at 1 keV) and an angular resolution of 10 arcsec or better. These specifications can only be achieved with a novel technology like Silicon Pore Optics, which is being developed by ESA together with a consortium of European industry. Silicon Pore Optics are made of commercial Si wafers using process technology adapted from the semiconductor industry. We present the recent upgrades made to the manufacturing processes and equipment, ranging from the manufacture of single mirror plates towards complete focusing mirror modules mounted in flight configuration, and results from first vibration tests. The performance of the mirror modules is tested at X-ray facilities that were recently extended to measure optics at a focal distance up to 20 m.

The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, as well as its reformulated European-only evolution, the New Gravitational-Wave Observatory, both employ heterodyne laser interferometry on million kilometer scale arm lengths in a triangular spacecraft formation, to observe gravitational waves at frequencies between 3 × 10⁻⁵ Hz and 1 Hz. The Optical Bench as central payload element realizes both the inter-spacecraft as well as local laser metrology with respect to inertial proof masses, and provides further functions, such as point-ahead accommodation, acquisition sensing, transmit beam conditioning, optical power monitoring, and laser redundancy switching.

These functions have been combined in a detailed design of an Optical Bench Elegant Breadboard, which is currently under assembly and integration. We present an overview of the realization and current performances of the Optical Bench subsystems, which employ ultraprecise piezo mechanism, ultrastable assembly techniques, and shot noise limited RF detection to achieve translation and tilt metrology at Picometer and Nanoradian noise levels.

The primary goal of the LISA mission is the detection of gravitational waves from astronomical sources in a frequency range of 10-4 to 1 Hz. This requires operational stabilities in the picometer range as well as highly predictable mechanical distortions upon cooling down, outgassing in space, and gravity release.

In March 2011 ESA announced a new way forward for the Lclass candidate missions, including LISA. ESA and the scientific community are now studying options for European-only missions that offer a significant reduction of the costs, while maintaining their core science objectives. In this context LISA has become the New Gravitational wave Observatory (NGO).

Despite this reformulation, the need for dimensional stability in the picometer range remains valid, and ESA have continued the corresponding LISA Technology Development Activities (TDA’s) also in view of NGO. In such frame Astrium GmbH and xperion (Friedrichshafen, Germany) have designed and manufactured an ultra-stable CFRP breadboard of the LISA telescope in order to experimentally demonstrate that the structure and the M1 & M2 mirror mounts are fulfilling the LISA requirements in the mission operational thermal environment. Suitable techniques to mount the telescope mirrors and to support the M1 & M2 mirrors have been developed, with the aim of measuring a system CTE of less than 10^-7 K^-1 during cooling down to -80°C. Additionally to the stringent mass and stiffness specifications, the required offset design makes the control of relative tilts and lateral displacements between the M1 and M2 mirrors particularly demanding.

The thermo-elastic performance of the telescope assembly is going to be experimentally verified by TNO (Delft, The Netherlands) starting from the second half of 2012.

This paper addresses challenges faced in the design phase, shows the resulting hardware and present first outcomes of the test campaign performed at TNO.

The LISA Optical Stability Characterization project is part of the LISA CTP activities to achieve the required Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for all of the LISA technologies used. This activity aims demonstration of the Telescope Assembly (TA), with a structure based on CFRP technology, that a CTE of 10^-7 1/K can be achieved with measures to tune the CTE to this level. In addition the demonstration is required to prove that the structure exhibits highly predictable mechanical distortion characteristics when cooling down to - 90°C, during outgassing in space and when going from 1g environment to 0g.

This paper describes the test facilities as well as the first test results. A dedicated test setup is designed and realized to allow monitoring dimensional variations of the TA using three interferometers, while varying the temperature in a thermal vacuum chamber. Critical parameters of the verification setup are the length metrology accuracy in thermal vacuum and the thermal vacuum flexibility and stability. The test programme includes Telescope Assembly CTE measurements and thermal gradient characterization.

Detection and observation of gravitational waves requires extreme stability in the frequency range 3e-5 Hz to 1 Hz. NGO/LISA will attain this by creating a giant interferometer in space, based on free floating proof masses in three spacecrafts. To operate NGO/LISA, the following piezo mechanisms are developed:

1. A piezo stack mechanism (Point Angle Ahead Mechanism) Due to time delay in the interferometer arms, the beam angle needs to be corrected. A mechanism rotating a mirror with a piezo stack performs this task. The critical requirements are the contribution to the optical path difference (less than 1.4 pm/√Hz) and the angular jitter (less than 8 nrad/√Hz).

2. A piezo sliding mechanism (Fiber Switching Unit Actuator)

To switch from primary to the redundant laser source, a Fiber Switching Unit Actuator (FSUA) is developed. The critical requirements are the coalignment of outgoing beams of <+/-1 micro radian and <+/-1 micro meter. A redundant piezo sliding mechanism rotates a wave plate over 45 degrees.

3. A piezo stepping mechanism (In Field Pointing Mechanism)

Due to seasonal orbit evolution effects, beams have to be corrected over a stroke of +/-2.5 degrees. The critical requirements are the contribution to the optical path difference (less than 3.0 pm/√Hz) and the angular jitter (less than 1 nrad/√Hz). Due to the large stroke, a piezo stepping concept was selected. Dedicated control algorithms have been implemented to achieve these challenging requirements.

This paper gives description of the designs and the ongoing process of qualifying the mechanisms for space applications.

Radiation is a major issue for satellite development, especially when using detectors, either for the mission itself, or for platform sensors. This paper will give CNES experience in the effects of radiations on detector and mission performances. Data from several satellites is presented (Earth observation, Astronomy, star trackers). We will make comparison between this data, to try to determine common behaviours. We will finish by describing the mitigation techniques against radiation effects.

This work focus on an innovative noiseless charge transfer TDI pixel fabricated with a one poly standard Imaging CMOS technology. Parallel column charge to voltage conversion decreases drastically the number of needed charge transfers while keeping high motion/dynamic MTF (multi phase approach), high QE (photodiode based architecture) and low noise (no noise summation).

InGaAs material has a natural cutoff wavelength of 1.65µm so it is naturally suitable for detection in Short Wavelength InfraRed (SWIR) spectral range. Regarding Earth Observation Spacecraft missions this spectral range can be used for the CO2 concentration measurements in the atmosphere. CNES (French Space agency) is studying a new mission, Microcarb with a spectral band centered on 1.6µm wavelength. InGaAs detector looks attractive for space application because its low dark current allows high temperature operation, reducing by the way the needed instrument resources. The Alcatel Thales III-VLab group has developed InGaAs arrays technology (320x256 & 640x512) that has been studied by CNES, using internal facilities. Performance tests and technological evaluation were performed on a 320x256 pixels array with a pitch of 30µm. The aim of this evaluation was to assess this new technology suitability for space applications. The carried out test plan includes proton radiations with Random Telegraph Signal (RTS) study, operating lifetest and evolution of performances as a function of the operating temperature.

Since 2007 Sodern has successfully developed visible and near infrared multispectral filter assemblies for Earth remote sensing imagers. Filter assembly is manufactured by assembling several sliced filter elements (so-called strips), each corresponding to one spectral band. These strips are cut from wafers using a two dimensional accuracy precision process.

In the frame of a 2011 R&T preparatory initiative undertaken by the French agency CNES, the filter assembly concept was adapted by Sodern to the long wave infrared spectral band taken into account the germanium substrate, the multilayer bandpass filters and the F-number of the optics.

Indeed the current trend in space instrumentation toward more compact uncooled infrared radiometer leads to replace the filter wheel with a multispectral filter assembly mounted directly above the micro bolometer window. The filter assembly was customized to fit the bolometer size. For this development activity we consider a ULIS VGA LWIR micro bolometer with 640 by 480 pixels and 25 microns pixel pitch. The feasibility of the concept and the ability to withstand space environment were investigated and demonstrated by bread boarding activities.

The presentation will contain a detailed description of the bolometer and filter assembly design, the stray light modeling analysis assessing the crosstalk between adjacent spectral bands and the results of the manufacturing and environmental tests (damp heat and thermal vacuum cycling).

Multi-spectral optical filters are essential parts of spaceborne optical imagers such as the Multispectral Instrument (MSI) for the Sentinel-2 satellite in the framework of ESA’s GMES programme for earth observation. In this development, Jena-Optronik is responsible for the design, manufacturing and test of the spectral filter assemblies. They are the key elements that define the spectral quality of the instrument. Besides the challenging spectral requirements straylight aspects are of crucial importance due to the close neighbourhood of the filter elements to the detector. Results will be presented of the extensive analyses and measurements that have been performed on component and assembly level to ensure the optical performance.

EUCLID is a mission to accurately measure the accelerated expansion of the universe. It has been selected for implementation with a launch planned for 2020. EUCLID will map the large-scale structure of the Universe over 15.000 deg² of the extragalactic sky and it will measure galaxies out to redshifts of z=2 EUCLID consists of a 1.2 m telescope and two scientific instruments for ellipticity and redshift measurements in the visible and near infrared wavelength regime.

We present a design for the EUCLID space segment, targeting optimum performance in terms of image quality and stability and maximum robustness with respect to performance, resources and instrument interfaces.

Sagem is presently working on a new project for the Japanese HISUI instrument made from a Hyper Spectral Sensor and a Multi Spectral Sensor, both including a Three Mirror Anastigmat (TMA) main optics. Mirrors are made from Zerodur from Schott but also from NTSIC, the New Technology Silicon Carbide developed in Japan. This report is also the opportunity to show to the community Sagem recent progress in precision TMA optics polishing and alignment.

A 1.5 m aperture optical telescope is planned for the next Japanese solar mission SOLAR-C as one of major three observing instruments. The optical telescope is designed to provide high-angular-resolution investigation of lower atmosphere from the photosphere to the uppermost chromosphere with enhanced spectroscopic and spectropolarimetric capability covering a wide wavelength region from 280 nm to 1100 nm. The opto-mechanical and -thermal performance of the telescope is crucial to attain high-quality solar observations and we present a study of optical and structural design of the large aperture space solar telescope, together with conceptual design of its accompanying focal plane instruments: wide-band and narrow-band filtergraphs and a spectro-polarimeter for high spatial and temporal observations in the solar photospheric and chromospheric lines useful for sounding physical condition of dynamical phenomena.

The presentation provides a synthesis of the alignment and the measured performance of the PFM telescope of the Multispectral Instrument.

Sagem presents its recent developments in light-weighting, polishing, bonding and testing of Zerodur space mirrors equipped with pads and fixation devices. The presentation is based on Sagem's recent successful project for the SEOSAT/Ingenio satellite.

Gaia is the European Space Agency's cornerstone mission for global space astrometry. Its goal is to make the largest, most precise three-dimensional map of our Galaxy by surveying an unprecedented number of stars.

This paper gives an overview of the mechanical system engineering and verification of the payload module. This development includes several technical challenges. First of all, the very high stability performance as required for the mission is a key driver for the design, which incurs a high degree of stability. This is achieved through the extensive use of Silicon Carbide (Boostec® SiC) for both structures and mirrors, a high mechanical and thermal decoupling between payload and service modules, and the use of high-performance engineering tools. Compliance of payload mass and volume with launcher capability is another key challenge, as well as the development and manufacturing of the 3.2-meter diameter toroidal primary structure. The spacecraft mechanical verification follows an innovative approach, with direct testing on the flight model, without any dedicated structural model.

The ESA Sentinel-2 mission developed by EADS Astrium will be devoted to Earth high resolution spectral imagery for the purpose of a global environmental monitoring. As a subcontractor of EADS Astrium, AMOS was responsible for the manufacturing of the instrument telescope mirrors and for the validation of the telescope alignment procedure. This paper details the mirror manufacturing sequences from mirror CVDSiC cladding to surface figuring and coating, outlining the metrology steps and their corresponding accuracy budget. The telescope alignment process is described in connection with the tooling and techniques that helped achieve the required optical performance of less than 90 nm RMS wavefront error within the telescope field of view.

Gaia is an ambitious ESA mission to chart a threedimensional map of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, in the process revealing the composition, formation and evolution of the Galaxy. Gaia will provide unprecedented positional and radial velocity measurements with the accuracies needed to produce a stereoscopic and cinematic census of about one billion stars in our Galaxy. The payload consists of 2 Three Mirror Anastigmat (TMA) telescopes (aperture size ~1.5 m x 0.5 m), 3 instruments (astrometer, photometer and spectrometer) and 106 butted CCDs assembled to a single 0.9 Giga-Pixel focal plane. In this paper we are describing the optical alignment of the two Gaia telescopes and the tooling that was used.

In this paper, we discuss the two-mirror pushbroom telescope for TROPOMI. Using freeform optics, it has unprecedented resolution. The complete cycle of freeform optical design, analysis, manufacturing, metrology and functional test on a breadboard setup is described, focusing on the specific complexities concerning freeforms. The TROPOMI flight telescope will be manufactured in summer 2012.

For Herschel SiC primary mirror purpose, a new approach of comparative CTE measurement has been developed; it is based on the well known bimetallic effect (“biceramic” in this case) and also optical measurements. This method offers a good CTE comparison capability in the range of 170-420K (extensible to 5-420K) depending of the thermal test facilities performance, with a resolution of only 0.001 μm/m.K. The Herschel primary mirror is made of 12 SiC segments which are brazed together. The CTE of each segment has been compared with the one of a witness sample and no visible change, higher than the measurement accuracy, has been observed. Furthermore, a lot of samples have been cut out from a spare segment, from different places and also from all X, Y and Z direction of the reference frame. No deviation was seen in all of these tests, thus demonstrating the very good homogeneity, reproducibility and isotropy of the Boostec® SiC material. Some recent literature about SiC material measurements at cryogenic temperature shows a better behaviour of Boostec® SiC material in comparison with other kind of SiC which are also candidate for space optics, in particular for isotropy purpose. After a review of the available literature, this paper describes the comparative CTE measurement method and details the results obtained during the measurement campaigns related to Herschel project.

The Sentinel-2 mission is a major part of the GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) program which has been set up by the European Union, on a joint initiative with the European Space Agency. A pair of identical satellites will observe the earth from a sun-synchronous orbit at 786 km altitude.

Astrium is the prime contractor of the satellites and their payload. The MultiSpectral Instrument features a “all-SiC” TMA (Three Mirror Anastygmat) telescope. MSI will provide optical images in 13 spectral bands, in the visible and also the near infra-red range, with a 10 to 60 m resolution and a 290 km wide swath.

The Boostec® SiC material is used mainly for its high specific stiffness (Youngs modulus / density) and its high thermal stability (thermal conductivity / coefficient of thermal expansion) which allow to reduce the distortions induced by thermo-elastic stresses. Its high mechanical properties as well as the relevant technology enable to make not only the mirrors but also the structure which holds them and the elements of the focal plane (including some detectors packaging).

Due to the required large size, accuracy and shape complexity, developing and manufacturing some of these SiC parts required innovative manufacturing approach. It is reviewed in the present paper.

Thales-Alenia-Space has identified the ceramic Si3N4 as an interesting material for the manufacturing of stiff , stable and lightweight truss structure for future large telescopes. Si3N4 ceramic made by FCT has been selected for its own intrinsic properties (high specific Young modulus, low CTE, very high intrinsic strength for a ceramics) and its cost effective beams manufacturing capabilities.

In order to qualify beam and beams end fittings for future large and thermo-elastical stable truss structure for space telescope, full development and tests activities have been performed. Manufacturing process has been optimized in order to obtain a very high reliable strength.

Full scale beams with thin wall have been manufactured and tested in bending and in tension. Full scale beam assembly with integrated junctions have been manufactured and tested up to ultimate loads and have been space qualified.

Beams end fittings made also in Si3N4 and its direct bolting capabilities have been also space qualified by tests.

Beside this qualification for current space telescope, developments are continuing thank to CNES R&T to develop high loaded brazed junction between Si3N4 parts, enhanced thermal conductivity and mechanical strength through Si3N4 formulation and manufacturing process tuning.

The goal of the MADRAS project (Mirror Active, Deformable and Regulated for Applications in Space) is to highlight the interest of Active Optics for the next generation of space telescope and instrumentation. Wave-front errors in future space telescopes will mainly come from thermal dilatation and zero gravity, inducing large lightweight primary mirrors deformation. To compensate for these effects, a 24 actuators, 100 mm diameter deformable mirror has been designed to be inserted in a pupil relay. Within the project, such a system has been optimized, integrated and experimentally characterized. The system is designed considering wave-front errors expected in 3m-class primary mirrors, and taking into account space constraints such as compactness, low weight, low power consumption and mechanical strength. Finite Element Analysis allowed an optimization of the system in order to reach a precision of correction better than 10 nm rms. A dedicated test-bed has been designed to fully characterize the integrated mirror performance in representative conditions. The test set up is made of three main parts: a telescope aberrations generator, a correction loop with the MADRAS mirror and a Shack-Hartman wave-front sensor, and PSF imaging. In addition, Fizeau interferometry monitors the optical surface shape. We have developed and characterized an active optics system with a limited number of actuators and a design fitting space requirements. All the conducted tests tend to demonstrate the efficiency of such a system for a real-time, in situ wave-front. It would allow a significant improvement for future space telescopes optical performance while relaxing the specifications on the others components.

We have developed a new type of unimorph deformable mirror, designed to correct for low-order Zernike modes. The mirror has a clear optical aperture of 50 mm combined with large peak-to-valley Zernike amplitudes of up to 35 μm. Newly developed fabrication processes allow the use of prefabricated super-polished and coated glass substrates. The mirror’s unique features suggest the use in several astronomical applications like the precompensation of atmospheric aberrations seen by laser beacons and the use in woofer-tweeter systems. Additionally, the design enables an efficient correction of the inevitable wavefront error imposed by the floppy structure of primary mirrors in future large space-based telescopes. We have modeled the mirror by using analytical as well as finite element models. We will present design, key features and manufacturing steps of the deformable mirror.

The aim of this work is to describe the latest results of new technological concepts for Large Aperture Telescopes Technology (LATT) using thin deployable lightweight active mirrors. This technology is developed under the European Space Agency (ESA) Technology Research Program and can be exploited in all the applications based on the use of primary mirrors of space telescopes with large aperture, segmented lightweight telescopes with wide Field of View (FOV) and low f/#, and LIDAR telescopes. The reference mission application is a potential future ESA mission, related to a space borne DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar) instrument operating around 935.5 nm with the goal to measure water vapor profiles in atmosphere. An Optical BreadBoard (OBB) for LATT has been designed for investigating and testing two critical aspects of the technology:

1) control accuracy in the mirror surface shaping. 2) mirror survivability to launch.

The aim is to evaluate the effective performances of the long stroke smart-actuators used for the mirror control and to demonstrate the effectiveness and the reliability of the electrostatic locking (EL) system to restraint the thin shell on the mirror backup structure during launch. The paper presents a comprehensive vision of the breadboard focusing on how the requirements have driven the design of the whole system and of the various subsystems. The manufacturing process of the thin shell is also presented.

High resolution earth observing systems need bigger and bigger telescopes. The design of such telescopes is a key element for the satellite design. In order to improve the imaging resolution with minimum impact on the satellite, a big step must be made to improve the compactness of the telescope.

This paper describes the comparative study of several compact optical designs. This compactness increases drastically the sensitivity of the telescope. The optical designs, their sensitivity, their performances, the need to implement active optics are discussed.

A new complete Optical Demonstration Model (ODM) of high performance off-axis Three Mirror Anastigmatic (TMA) telescope has been successfully developed in BISME. This 1.75-m focal length, 1/9 relative aperture, 6.2°×1.0°field of view visible telescope, which uses the TDICCD detectors of 7μm pixel size, can provide 2.0-m ground sampling distance and 51-km swath from an altitude of 500 km. With some significant efforts, the main goals of the ODM have been reached: a compact lightweight design while realizing high performance and high stability. The optical system and key technologies have been applied in the multispectral camera of ZY-3 Satellite (the first high resolution stereo mapping satellite of China), which was successfully launched on January 9^th, 2012. The main technology of ODM was described. The test results and applications were outlined.

Solar pumped laser (SPL) can find wide applications in space missions, especially for long lasting ones. In this paper a new technological approach for the realization of a SPL based on fiber laser technology is proposed. We present a preliminary study, focused on the active material performance evaluation, towards the realization of a Nd³⁺ -doped fiber laser made of phosphate glass materials, emitting at 1.06 μm. For this research several Nd³⁺ -doped phosphate glass samples were fabricated, with concentration of Nd³⁺ up to 10 mol%. Physical and thermal properties of the glasses were measured and their spectroscopic properties are described. The effect of Nd³⁺ doping concentration on emission spectra and lifetimes was investigated in order to study the concentration quenching effect on luminescence performance.

A laser-desorption mass spectrometer will be part of the ESA-led ExoMars mission with the objective of identifying organic molecules on planet Mars. A UV laser source emitting nanosecond pulses with pulse energy of about 250 μJ at a wavelength of 266 nm is required for the ionization of nonvolatile soil constituents. A passively q-switched, diode-pumped Nd∶YAG laser oscillator with external frequency quadrupling has been developed. The basic optical concept and a previously developed flight-near prototype are redesigned for the engineering qualification model of the laser, mainly due to requirements updated during the development process and necessary system adaptations. Performance issues like pulse energy stability, pulse energy adjustment, and burst mode operation are presented in this paper.

Coherent population trapping (CPT) has been demonstrated as an interesting technique for miniature atomic frequency references [1,2] and quantum information. It is based on the coupling of the two hyperfine ground states of an alkali atom – namely cesium (¹³³Cs) for atomic clocks – through excitation to a common atomic level by two phase-coherent laser fields nearly resonant with the atomic transitions. The frequency difference between the two laser fields is tuned at the atomic frequency splitting in the microwave range, equal to 9.192 GHz for ¹³³Cs atoms. Outputs powers in the mW range and narrow-linewidth emission (<500 kHz) are required for the two laser beams.

We demonstrate high power (multiwatt) low noise single frequency operation of tunable compact verical–external– cavity surface–emitting–lasers exhibiting a low divergence high beam quality, of great interest for photonics applications. The quantum-well based lasers are operating in CW at RT at 1μm and 2.3μm exploiting GaAs and Sb technologies. For heat management purpose the VECSEL membranes were bonded on a SiC substrate. Both high power diode pumping (using GaAs commercial diode) at large incidence angle and electrical pumping are developed. The design and physical properties of the coherent wave are presented. We took advantage of thermal lens–based stability to develop a short (0.5-5mm) external cavity without any intracavity filter. We measured a low divergence circular TEM00 beam (M² = 1.2) close to diffraction limit, with a linear light polarization (> 30 dB). The side mode suppression ratio is > 45 dB. The free running laser linewidth is 37 kHz limited by pump induced thermal fluctuations. Thanks to this high-Q external cavity approach, the frequency noise is low and the dynamics is in the relaxation-oscillation-free regime, exhibiting low intensity noise (< 0.1%), with a cutoff frequency ∽ 41MHz above which the shot noise level is reached. The key parameters limiting the laser power and coherence will be discussed. These design/properties can be extended to other wavelengths.

Interconnect or “bus” is one of the critical technologies in design of spacecraft avionics systems that dictates its architecture and complexity. MIL-STD-1553B has long been used as the avionics backbone technology. As avionics systems become more and more capable and complex, however, limitations of MIL-STD-1553B such as insufficient 1 Mbps bandwidth and separability have forced current avionics architects and designers to use combination of different interconnect technologies in order to meet various requirements: CompactPCI is used for backplane interconnect; LVDS or RS422 is used for low and high-speed direct point-to-point interconnect; and some proprietary interconnect standards are designed for custom interfaces. This results in a very complicated system that consumes significant spacecraft mass and power and requires extensive resources in design, integration and testing of spacecraft systems.

There is a commercial trend in high data-rate systems to place optical components in close proximity to the data source/sink. This trend forgoes the traditional module packaging approach to create compact components that are embedded near or within the package of high-performance ASICs. This approach reduces the power consumption and electro-magnetic interference (EMI) effects by reducing the length of copper interconnect signal paths. We present an overview of commercial trends and methods for fielding this technology within spacecraft.

A fiber optic digital link for on-board data handling is modeled, designed and optimized in this paper. Design requirements and constraints relevant to the link, which is in the frame of novel on-board processing architectures, are discussed. Two possible link configurations are investigated, showing their advantages and disadvantages. An accurate mathematical model of each link component and the entire system is reported and results of link simulation based on those models are presented. Finally, some details on the optimized design are provided.

In this paper we present the results of the radiation tests performed on the optical components of the fiber-optic interrogator module as a part of the Hybrid Sensor Bus (HSB) system. The HSB-system is developed in the frame of an ESAARTES program and will be verified as flight demonstrator onboard the German Heinrich Hertz satellite in 2016. The HSB system is based on a modular concept which includes sensor interrogation modules based on I²C electrical and fiber Bragg grating (FBG) fiber-optical sensor elements. Onboard fiber-optic sensing allows the implementation of novel control and monitoring methods. For read-out of multiple FBG sensors, a design based on a tunable laser diode as well as a design based on a spectrometer is considered.

The expected and tested total ionizing dose (TID) applicable to the HSB system is in the range between 100 krad and 300 krad inside the satellite in the geostationary orbit over a life time of 15 years. We present radiation test results carried out on critical optical components to be used in the fiber-optic interrogation module. These components are a modulated grating Y-branch (MGY) tunable laser diode acting as light source for the tuning laser approach, the line detector of a spectrometer, photodetectors and the FBG sensors acting as sensor elements.

A detailed literature inquiry of radiation effects on optical fibers and FBG sensors, is also included in the paper. The fiber-optic interrogator module implemented in the HSB system is based on the most suitable technology, which sustains the harsh environment in the geostationary orbit.

We demonstrate for the first time a radiationresistant Erbium-Doped Fiber exhibiting performances that can fill the requirements of Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers for space applications. This is based on an Aluminum co-doping atom reduction enabled by Nanoparticules Doping-Process. For this purpose, we developed several fibers containing very different erbium and aluminum concentrations, and tested them in the same optical amplifier configuration. This work allows to bring to the fore a highly radiation resistant Erbium-doped pure silica optical fiber exhibiting a low quenching level. This result is an important step as the EDFA is increasingly recognized as an enabling technology for the extensive use of photonic sub-systems in future satellites.

We investigated the radiation hardening of optical fiber amplifiers operating in space environments. Through a real-time analysis in active configuration, we evaluated the role of Ce in the improvement of the amplifier performance against ionizing radiations. Ce-codoping is an efficient hardening solution, acting both in the limitation of defects in the host glass matrix of RE-doped optical fibers and in the stabilization of lasing properties of the Er³⁺-ions. On the one hand, in the near-infrared region, radiation induced attenuation measurements show the absence of radiation induced P-related defect species in host glass matrix of the Ce-codoped active fibers; on the other hand, in the Ce-free fiber, the higher lifetime variation shows stronger local modifications around the Er³⁺-ions with the absence of Ce.

There are many advantages to employing fiber optics for high capacity satellite communication. However, optical cables can be susceptible to high radiation, temperature extremes and vacuum environment. Any hardware used in these systems must be rugged, durable and immune to the detrimental effects of the aforementioned conditions.

Standard COTS optical fiber will darken when exposed to high levels of radiation limiting the effectiveness of the communications system. Of particular concern to satellites in GEO are energetic electrons, bursts of heavy particles due to solar storms which can cause total dose and single event effects (SEE). Conventional fiber optic cables have several issues performing in high radiation environments. Linden has patented and developed a novel cable using an extruded layer of Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) applied to commercially available fiber. Total dose effects are minimized by shielding with Liquid Crystal Polymer jacketing. It is a simple, inexpensive way to increase the radiation shielding and mechanical performance of cables in satellites while concomitantly providing hermeticity and thus increased fatigue factor for optical glass.

• LCPs exposed to 5000 Mrad dose of gamma rays retain in excess of 90% of their mechanical properties.

• LCPs exposed to 1 Mrad radiation dose with energetic protons retain almost 100% of their mechanical strength. Tensile modulus increases with exposure to the radiation.

• Weight for weight the proton absorbing power of LCP is 25% better than that of aluminum.

We will present experimental data on radhard optical patchcords.

New bend insensitive multimode optical fiber with a core diameter of 80 μm, numerical aperture of 0.29, and mid temperature acrylate coating (operating temperatures up to +200°C) is proposed for short distance networks with a bandwidth of 10 Gb/s or more for distances up to 100 m.

Optical fiber connectors have been used for the past fifteen years in space application. Reviewing the heritage left from past and current mission, the status of ESCC standards for these components and assemblies will help future use of fiber in space applications.

In the frame of the ESA ECI program, Diamond has evaluated and is currently qualifying according to ESCC standards the AVIM and Mini-AVIM connectors. The configuration retained to qualify the connector sets is using a polarization maintaining fiber at 1550nm with a loose tube in PEEK as cable structure.

The evaluation has been used to step-stress specific characteristics of the optical fiber connectors with a particular aim at possible failure modes to establish a safety factor for the qualification. The evaluation results presented can be used on a case by case to evaluate special applications that would require to extend the specification.

The qualification components can be extended further and a structure for assemblies is proposed in order to simplify fiber optics implementation in space projects.

The Space-Time Explorer and Quantum Test of the Equivalence Principle mission (STEQUEST) is devoted to a precise measurement of the effect of gravity on time and matter using an atomic clock and an atom interferometer. The mission was selected by ESA as one of four candidates for the M3 mission within the Cosmic Vision Program (launch in 2022).

Recent results obtained on integrated optical gyroscopes are presented in this paper. The sensors configuration, based on high-Q resonators both in silica-onsilicon and InP technologies, is discussed and the estimation of the resonators performance through an accurate optical characterization is reported. On the basis of the numerical and experimental achievements, we demonstrate that resonant micro optical gyros can potentially exhibit resolution values in the range 1-10 °/h, which is demanded by several emerging space applications.

We present the development of a compact optical frequency reference with a stability in the 10^-15 domain at longer integration times utilizing Doppler-free spectroscopy based on molecular iodine. With respect to its future application in space, a setup on elegant breadboard (EBB) level was realized and successfully implemented and tested. A frequency stability of 5 • 10^-15 at an integration time of 200 s was verified in a beat measurement with a ULE cavity setup. For ensuring high thermal and mechanical stability, the EBB utilizes a baseplate made of ultra-low CTE glass ceramics. The optical components are fixed to the baseplate using an adhesive bonding technology. In a current activity, a setup on engineering model (EM) level will be realized with increased compactness and stability compared to the EBB setup utilizing a very compact multipass gas cell.

We report the main characteristics and performances of the first – to our knowledge – prototype of an ultra-stable cavity designed and produced by industry with the aim of space missions. The cavity is a 100 mm long cylinder rigidly held at its midplane by an engineered mechanical interface providing an efficient decoupling from thermal and vibration perturbations. The spacer is made from Ultra-Low Expansion (ULE) glass and mirrors substrate from fused silica to reduce the thermal noise limit to 4x10^-16. Finite element modeling was performed in order to minimize thermal and vibration sensitivities while getting a high fundamental resonance frequency. The system was designed to be transportable, acceleration tolerant (up to several g) and temperature range compliant [-33°C; +73°C]. The axial vibration sensitivity was evaluated at 4x10^-11 /(ms^-2), while the transverse one is < 1x10^-11 /(ms^-2). The fractional frequency instability is < 1x10^-15 from 0.1 to few seconds and reaches 5-6x10^-16 at 1s.

Design, development and verification of the passive Fine Sun Sensor (FSS) for the BepiColombo spacecraft is described. Major challenge in the design is to keep the detector at acceptable temperature levels while exposed to a solar flux intensity exceeding 10 times what is experienced in Earth orbit. A mesh type Heat Rejection Filter has been developed. The overall sensor design and its performance verification program is described.

TROPOMI, the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument, is a passive UV-VIS-NIR-SWIR trace gas spectrograph in the line of SCIAMACHY (2002) and OMI (2004), instruments with the Netherlands in a leading role. Both instruments are very successful and remained operational long after their nominal life time.

TROPOMI is the next step, scheduled for launch in 2015. It combines the broad wavelength range from SCIAMACHY from UV to SWIR and the broad viewing angle push-broom concept from OMI, which makes daily global coverage in combination with good spatial resolution possible. Using spectral bands from 270-500nm (UV-VIS) 675-775nm (NIR) and 2305-2385nm (SWIR) at moderate resolution (0.25 to 0.6nm) TROPOMI will measure O3, NO2, SO2, BrO, HCHO and H2O tropospheric columns from the UV-VIS-NIR wavelength range and CO and CH4 tropospheric columns from the SWIR wavelength range. Cloud information will be derived primarily from the O2A band in the NIR. This will help, together with the aerosol information, in constraining the light path of backscattered solar radiation. Methane (CH4), CO2 and Carbon monoxide (CO) are the key gases of the global carbon cycle. Of these, Methane is by far the least understood in terms of its sources and is most difficult to predict its future trend. Global space observations are needed to inform atmospheric models. The SWIR channel of TROPOMI is designed to achieve the spectral, spatial and SNR resolution required for this task.

TROPOMI will yield an improved accuracy of the tropospheric products compared to the instruments currently in orbit. TROPOMI will take a major step forward in spatial resolution and sensitivity. The nominal observations are at 7 x 7 km2 at nadir and the signal-to-noises are sufficient for trace gas retrieval even at very low albedos (down to 2%). This spatial resolution allows observation of air quality at sub-city level and the high signal-to-noises means that the instrument can perform useful measurements in the darkest conditions.

TROPOMI is currently in its detailed design phase. This paper gives an overview of the challenges and current performances. From unit level engineering models first results are becoming available. Early results are promising and this paper discusses some of these early H/W results.

TROPOMI is the single payload on the Sentinel-5 precursor mission which is a joint initiative of the European Community (EC) and of the European Space Agency (ESA). The 2015 launch intends to bridge the data stream from OMI / SCIAMACHY and the upcoming Sentinel 5 mission. The instrument is funded jointly by the Netherlands Space Office and by ESA. Dutch Space is the instrument prime contractor. SSTL in the UK is developing the SWIR module with a significant contribution from SRON. Dutch Space and TNO are working as an integrated team for the UVN module. KNMI and SRON are responsible for ensuring the scientific capabilities of the instrument.

Measuring the concentration of greenhouse gases from space is a current challenge. This measurement is achieved via a precise analysis of the signature of chemical gaseous species (CO2, CH4, CO, etc.) in the spectrum of the reflected sunlight. First at all, two families of spectrometers have been studied for the MicroCarb mission. The first family is based on the phenomena of interference between two radiation waves (Michelson Interferometer). The second family is based on the use of dispersive optical components. The second family has been selected for the forthcoming studies in the MicroCarb project. These instruments must have high radiometric and spectral resolutions, in narrow spectral bands, in order to discriminate between absorption lines from various atmospheric chemical species, and to quantify their concentration. This is the case, for example, for the instrument onboard the OCO-2 satellite (NASA/JPL).

Our analysis has led us to define a new instrumental concept, based on a dispersive grating spectrometer, with the aim of providing the same accuracy level as the OCO-2, but with a more compact design for accommodation on the Myriade Evolution microsatellite class. This compact design approach will allow us to offer a moderate-cost solution to fulfil mission objectives. Two other studies based on dispersive grating are in progress by CNES prime contractors (ASTRIUM and THALES ALENIA SPACE).

A summary of the main specifications of this design will be described, in particular the approach with the so-called “merit function”. After a description of such a space instrument, which uses a specific grating component, a preliminary assessment of performances will be presented, including the theoretical calculations and formula. A breadboard implementation of this specific grating has allowed us to show the practicality of this concept and its capabilities. Some results of this breadboard will be described. In addition, an instrument simulator is being developed to validate the performances of this concept. A grating component prototype has been built, and the specifications, together with the expected performances, will be described, in particular the polarisation ratio. Some elements about detectors will be also given regarding their suitability for the mission. This preliminary design is encouraging and shows that such a spectrometer may be compatible with a microsatellite platform (low mass, low power and compact design). Some prospects of improvements will also be considered.

Aerosols affect Earth’s energy level by scattering and absorbing radiation and by changing the properties of clouds. Such effects influence the precipitation patterns and lead to modifications of the global circulation systems that constitute Earth’s climate. The aerosol effects on our climate cannot be at full scale estimated due to the insufficient knowledge of their properties at a global scale. Achieving global measurement coverage requires an instrument with a large instantaneous field of view that can perform polarization measurements with high accuracy, typically better than 0.1%. Developing such an instrument can be considered as the most important challenge in polarimetric aerosol remote sensing.

Using a novel technique to measure polarization, we have designed an instrument for a low-Earth orbit, e.g. International Space Station, that can simultaneously characterize the intensity and state of linear polarization of scattered sunlight, from 400 to 800 nm and 1200 to 1600 nm, for 30 viewing directions, each with a 30° viewing angle. In this article we present the instrument’s optical design concept.

The Imaging IR Limb Sounder (IRLS) is one of the two instruments planned on board of the candidate Earth Explorer Core Mission PREMIER. PREMIER stands for PRocess Exploration through Measurements of Infrared and Millimetre-wave Emitted Radiation. PREMIER went recently through the process of a feasibility study (Phase A) within the Earth Observation Envelope Program. Emerging from recent advanced instrument technologies IRLS shall, next to a millimetre-wave limb sounder (called STEAMR), explore the benefits of three-dimensional limb sounding with embedded cloud imaging capability. Such 3D imaging technology is expected to open a new era of limb sounding that will allow detailed studies of the link between atmospheric composition and climate, since it will map simultaneously fields of temperature and many trace gases in the mid/upper troposphere and stratosphere across a large vertical and horizontal field of view and with high vertical and horizontal resolution. PREMIER shall fly in a tandem formation looking backwards to METOP’s swath and thereby improve meteorological and environmental analyses.

In this paper we propose an instrument which is based on a similar payload developed in the framework of the MIOSAT mission of the Italian Space Agency. The instrument is designed on the basis of the following goals: low coast, modularity, plug and play capability, and it should have both wide spectral and spatial range coverage. It will be therefore developed following a modular concept in order to achieve a hyperspectral imager working from visible near infrared up to thermal infrared region.

Echoes is a project of a spaceborne Doppler Spectro-Imager (DSI) which has been proposed as payload to the JUICE mission project selected in the Cosmic Vision program of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is a Fourier transform spectrometer which measures phase shifts in the interference patterns induced by Doppler shifts of spectral lines reflected at the surface of the planet. Dedicated to the seismology of Jupiter, the instrument is designed to analyze the periodic movements induced by internal acoustic modes of the planet. It will allow the knowledge of the internal structure of Jupiter, in particular of the central region, which is essential for the comprehension of the scenario of the giant planets’ formation. The optical design is based on a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer operating in the visible domain and takes carefully into account the sensitivity of the optical path difference to the temperature. The instrument produces simultaneously four images in quadrature which allows the measurement of the phase without being contaminated by the continuum component of the incident light. We expect a noise level less than 1 cm²s^-2µHz^-1 in the frequency range [0.5 -10] mHz. In this paper, we present the prototype implemented at the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur (OCA) in collaboration with Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS) to study the real performances in laboratory and to demonstrate the capability to reach the required Technology Readiness Level 5.

The Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) is one of ESA’s 8^th Earth Explorer mission candidates, which has been recently initiated for feasibility (Phase A) study as part of the ESA Living Planet programme. Together with the second candidate mission CarbonSat, these missions will undergo a preliminary concept review and a preliminary requirements review. FLEX has reached a status, where the requirements have been consolidated such that the instrument and satellite concepts could be formulated. The selection of the instrument concepts were derived from detailed trade-offs, which had the aim to meet the instrument requirements while staying in line with the allocated resources for the mission. Although the instrument concepts are not yet fully frozen with respect to all aspects, we will report about the most promising configurations and the expected performance as compared to the scientific requirements.

The MERTIS instrument is a thermal infrared imaging spectrometer onboard of ESA’s cornerstone mission BepiColombo to Mercury. MERTIS has four goals: the study of Mercury’s surface composition, identification of rock-forming minerals, mapping of the surface mineralogy, and the study of the surface temperature variations and thermal inertia. MERTIS will provide detailed information about the mineralogical composition of Mercury’s surface layer by measuring the spectral emittance in the spectral range from 7-14 μm at high spatial and spectral resolution. Furthermore MERTIS will obtain radiometric measurements in the spectral range from 7-40 μm to study the thermo-physical properties of the surface material. The MERTIS detector is based on an uncooled micro-bolometer array providing spectral separation and spatial resolution according to its 2-dimensional shape. The operation principle is characterized by intermediate scanning of the planet surface and three different calibration targets – free space view and two on-board black body sources. In the current project phase, the MERTIS Qualification Model (QM) is under a rigorous testing program. Besides a general overview of the instrument principles, the papers addresses major aspects of the instrument design, manufacturing and verification.

The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) is an imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) which is capable of operating on various airborne platforms. The main scientific focus is on the dynamics and chemistry of the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UTLS) region.

GAIA¹ is a global space astrometry mission, successor to the Hipparcos mission, launched in 1989. The GAIA spacecraft is being built by EADS Astrium France and is scheduled for launch in 2013. At a distance of 1.5 million km from Earth at Lagrangian point L2, slowly spinning around its axis, GAIA will monitor each target star about 100 times over a 5- year period, precisely measuring its distance, movement, and change in brightness. Through spectrophotometric classification, it will provide the detailed physical properties of each star observed: luminosity, temperature, gravity, and elemental composition. This massive stellar census will provide the basic data to tackle an enormous range of important questions related to the origin, structure, and evolutionary history of our Galaxy. The measurements performed with GAIA will be accurate to 24 microarcsec, about 100 times more accurate than Hipparcos. To achieve this extreme accuracy at an operational temperature of 100 K, the entire GAIA Payload is made out of Silicon Carbide (SiC).

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has produced a wealth of data on Earth gravity, hydrology, glaciology and climate research. To continue that data after the imminent end of the GRACE mission, a follow-on mission is planned to be launched in 2017, as a joint USGerman project with a smaller Australian contribution. The satellites will be essentially rebuilt as they were for GRACE using microwave ranging as the primary instrument for measuring changes of the intersatellite distance. In addition and in contrast to the original GRACE mission, a Laser Ranging Interferometer (LRI, previously also called ‘Laser Ranging Instrument’) will be included as a technology demonstrator, which will operate together with the microwave ranging and supply a complimentary set of ranging data with lower noise, and new data on the relative alignment between the spacecraft. The LRI aims for a noise level of 80 nm/√Hz over a distance of up to 270km and will be the first intersatellite laser ranging interferometer. It shares many technologies with LISA-like gravitational wave observatories. This paper describes the optical architecture including the mechanisms to handle pointing jitter, the main noise sources and their mitigation, and initial laboratory breadboard experiments at AEI Hannover.

In this work we present a technique to perform long and absolute distance measurements based on mode-locked diode lasers. Using a Michelson interferometer, it is possible to produce an optical cross-correlation between laser pulses of the reference arm with the pulses from the measurement arm, adjusting externally their degree of overlap either changing the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) or the position of the reference arm mirror for two (or more) fixed frequencies. The correlation of the travelling pulses for precision distance measurements relies on ultra-short pulse durations, as the uncertainty associated to the method is dependent on the laser pulse width as well as on a highly stable PRF.

Mode-locked Diode lasers are a very appealing technology for its inherent characteristics, associated to compactness, size and efficiency, constituting a positive trade-off with regard to other mode-locked laser sources. Nevertheless, main current drawback is the non-availability of frequency-stable laser diodes. The laser used is a monolithic mode-locked semiconductor quantum-dot (QD) laser. The laser PRF is locked to an external stabilized RF reference. In this work we will present some of the preliminary results and discuss the importance of the requirements related to laser PRF stability in the final metrology system accuracy.

We demonstrate the measurement of an arbitrary absolute distance with a mode-resolved frequency comb laser. By resolving the frequency comb modes individually with a virtually imaged phase array (VIPA), thousands of lasers modes are available that can be exploited for massively parallel homodyne interferometry. With this method a non-ambiguity range of 15 cm is obtained, allowing for non-incremental distance measurement in an interferometric scheme.

We present a laser ranging system, under development, that uses a high frequency modulated beam to achieve sub-nm resolution by the combined use of interferometric and time-of-flight measurements. We first describe how the absolute distance is extracted from a two-mode interference signal. In particular we show that the signal, which presents both optical and synthetic wavelength scales, is essential to achieve nm-scale accuracy, despite the significant long-term phase drifts in the 20 GHz detection chains. Then we present results obtained with the telemeter implemented on an optical table, for a distance of about four meters, implemented by folding the laser beam path to the target. The challenge here is to achieve a phase and amplitude measurement of two 20 GHz signals with a resolution well below 10^-4 cycle and 10^-4, respectively, despite the fact that the signal undergoes very strong (×3 ) amplitude changes.

For the future space missions as Cosmic Vision, the working temperature of the optics can be very low even for visible applications. This is due to the L2 environment. Thus, in the PLATO mission, a dioptric imaging solution based on lenses with diameters up to 180 mm and temperature around 190 K was selected. Furthermore, for EUCLID mission, the dichroic blade associated to a diameter of 120 mm and a temperature of 150 K is one of the key elements. Such large optical components working in a cooled environment are not easy to implement. Classical mounting solutions qualified for small optics are no more relevant for next generation of scientific applications. Thales Alenia Space has proposed, designed and developed, in the framework of a CNES R&T activity, a mechanical concept for the mounting of large refracting components (180 mm diameter) compatible with mechanical loads (30 g) and thermal environment (150 K). A full size breadboard has been realized and tested.

Through the years many stable optical mounts have been designed, analyzed and tested at TNO. This paper gives an overview of the design principles used. Various examples are presented together with verification test results.

The use of adhesives in combination with an iso-static mount design allows mounting of optical components in a limited volume with limited deformation of the optical surfaces due to thermal and mechanical loads. Relatively large differences in thermal expansion over large temperature ranges can be overcome using a simple and predictable design at reasonable costs. Despite adhesives have limited dimensional stability and loadability, stable optical mounts can be realized when proper design principles are used.

NOVA is involved in the development and realization of various optical astronomical instruments for groundbased as well as space telescopes, with a focus on nearand mid-infrared instrumentation. NOVA has developed a suite of scientific instruments with cryogenic optics for the ESO VLT and VLTI instruments: VISIR, MIDI, the SPIFFI 2Kcamera for SINFONI, X-shooter and MATISSE. Other projects include the cryogenic optics for MIRI for the James Webb Space Telescope and several E-ELT instruments.

Mounting optics is always a compromise between firmly fixing the optics and preventing stresses within the optics. The fixing should ensure mechanical stability and thus accurate positioning in various gravity orientations, temperature ranges, during launch, transport or earthquake. On the other hand, the fixings can induce deformations and sometimes birefringence in the optics and thus cause optical errors. Even cracking or breaking of the optics is a risk, especially when using brittle infrared optical materials at the cryogenic temperatures required in instruments for infrared astronomy, where differential expansion of various materials amounts easily to several millimeters per meter. Special kinematic mounts are therefore needed to ensure both accurate positioning and low stress.

This paper concentrates on the opto-mechanical design of optics mountings, especially for large transmission optics in cryogenic circumstances in space instruments. It describes the development of temperature-invariant (“a-thermal”) kinematic designs, their implementation in ground based instrumentation and ways to make them suitable for space instruments.

This paper discusses proton-induced radiation effects in vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VA-CNT). VACNTs exhibit extremely low optical reflectivity which makes them interesting candidates for use in spacecraft stray light suppression. Investigating their behavior in space environment is a precondition for the implementation on a satellite.

Because of their complexity (>100 layers) and their decreasing dimensions (~pixel size), performances of the new generation of optical filters for space application are degraded by wide angle light scattering. For these reasons, it is huge important to be able to predict and measure the angular and specral behaviour of light scattered by complex interferential filters. In this paper, light scattering is calculated for complex filters and take simultaneously account of most parameters: surface roughness, bulk inhomogeneity, cross-correlation coefficients, errors in design, wavelength and scattering angles (normal and polar), polarization… All these variations have become necessary to predict a balance in optical multiplexers and related systems, mainly for space applications. To complete the analysis, a metrological platform dedicated to the multimodal characterization of scattering losses has been involved.

The study of lightning phenomena will be carried out by a dedicated instrument, the lightning imager, that will make use of narrow-band transmission filters for separating the Oxygen emission lines in the clouds, from the background signal. The design, manufacturing and testing of these optical filters will be described here.

The behaviour of interference optical filters for space applications has been investigated under low energy proton irradiation. In order to understand the behaviour of the interference coating subjected to proton irradiation, the interaction of protons with coating and substrate was simulated by the SRIM code. A beam of protons of 60 KeV with an integrated fluence of 10¹³ p⁺/cm² was used. The spectral transmittances of fused silica, TiO₂ and HfO₂ single layers and interference coatings were measured before and after irradiation and, according to simulations, no significant effects were detected in the visible-near infrared spectrum, while some variations appeared at shorter wavelengths.

Sensitivity to polarization is a major design driver for Earth observing dispersive spectrometers. While the measured Earth radiance observed from space in the UV, visible and near IR bands has a strong and highly variable linearly polarized component, most essential components in spectrometers are inherently sensitive to polarization: scan mirrors, gratings, dichroics. Minimisation of the resulting radiometric errors is a challenge and cannot be only achieved with careful optical designs. Depolarization by passive optical components such as birefringent polarization scramblers has been demonstrated with the last generation of atmosphere monitoring instruments (MERIS, OMI). In order to achieve the demanding performances targeted by future instruments (Sentinel-4, Sentinel-5, CarbonSat) the available degrees of freedom left for optimisation shall be explored, and new polarization scrambler designs must be found.

This paper summarizes design rules and performance aspects identified by ESA during phases A/B1 of the Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 missions. The following aspects have been investigated and will be discussed: minimization of polarization dependent spectral oscillations, use of a polarization scrambler in converging beam or parallel beam at large angles of incidence, polarization dependent pointing error.

The ESA Euclid mission is intended to explore the dark side of the Universe, particularly to understand the nature of the dark energy responsible of the accelerating expansion of the Universe. One of the two probes carried by this mission is the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillation (BAO) that requires the redshift measurements of millions of galaxies. In the Euclid design, these massive NIR spectroscopic measurements are based on slitless low resolution grisms. These grisms with low groove density and small blaze angle are difficult to manufacture by conventional replica process. Two years ago we started a CNES R&D program to develop grism manufacturing by the photolithographic process which is well adapted to coarse gratings. In addition, this original method allows introducing optical aberration correction by ruling curved and non-parallel grooves in order to simplify the instrument optical design. During the Euclid Phase A, we developed several prototypes of gratings made by photolithography. In this paper, we present the optical performance test results, including tests in the specific environment of the Euclid mission.

The EarthCARE mission is the sixth Earth Explorer Mission of the ESA Living Planet Programme, with a launch date planned in 2015. It addresses the interaction and impact of clouds and aerosols on the Earth’s radiative budget. ATLID (ATmospheric LIDar), one of the four instruments of EarthCARE, shall determine vertical profiles of cloud and aerosol physical parameters (altitude, optical depth, backscatter ratio and depolarisation ratio) in synergy with other instruments. Operating in the UV range at 355 nm, ATLID provides atmospheric echoes with a vertical resolution of about 100 m from ground to an altitude of 40 km. As a result of high spectral resolution filtering, the lidar is able to separate the relative contribution of aerosol (Mie) and molecular (Rayleigh) scattering, which gives access to aerosol optical depth.

The purpose of the paper is to present the progress in the instrument and subsystem design. The instrument is currently in phase C where the detailed design of all sub-systems is being performed. Emphasis will be put on the major technological developments, in particular the laser Transmitter, the optical units and detector developments.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has started a conceptual study of earth observation missions with a space-borne laser scanner (GLS, as Global Laser Scanner). Laser scanners are systems which transmit intense pulsed laser light to the ground from an airplane or a satellite, receive the scattered light, and measure the distance to the surface from the round-trip delay time of the pulse. With scanning mechanisms, GLS can obtain high-accuracy three-dimensional (3D) information from all over the world.

High-accuracy 3D information is quite useful in various areas. Currently, following applications are considered.

1. Observation of tree heights to estimate the biomass quantity.

2. Making the global elevation map with high resolution.

3. Observation of ice-sheets.

This paper aims at reporting the present state of our conceptual study of the GLS. A prospective performance of the GLS for earth observation missions mentioned above.

The quest for real-time high resolution is of prime importance for surveillance applications specially in disaster management and rescue mission. Synthetic aperture radar provides meter-range resolution images in all weather conditions. Often installed on satellites the revisit time can be too long to support real-time operations on the ground.

Synthetic aperture lidar can be lightweight and offers centimeter-range resolution. Onboard airplane or unmanned air vehicle this technology would allow for timelier reconnaissance.

INO has developed a synthetic aperture radar table prototype and further used a real-time optronic processor to fulfill image generation on-demand. The early positive results using both technologies are presented in this paper.

A 2-micron pulsed, Integrated Path Differential Absorption (IPDA) lidar instrument for ground and airborne atmospheric CO₂ concentration measurements via direct detection method is being developed at NASA Langley Research Center. This instrument will provide an alternate approach to measure atmospheric CO₂ concentrations with significant advantages. A high energy pulsed approach provides high precision measurement capability by having high signal-to-noise level and unambiguously eliminates the contamination from aerosols and clouds that can bias the IPDA measurement.

In the scope of the preparation of spaceborne lidar missions to measure the concentration of greenhouse gases with differential absorption LIDAR techniques, we report on the development of a high energy 2.05 μm optical parametric source based on a versatile architecture enabling multiple wavelengths generation in the vicinity of the R30 absorption line of CO₂. The multi-wavelength configuration is under study for a few greenhouse gas active detection missions, such as Ascend.

ChemCam is a LIBS Instrument mounted on the MSL 2011 NASA mission. The laser transmitter of this Instrument has been developed by the French society Thales Optronique (former Thales Laser) with a strong technical support from CNES. The paper will first rapidly present the performance of this laser and will then describe the postChemCam developments realized on and around this laser for new planetology programs.

A prototype of a compact light-weight passively Q-switched diode pumped Nd:YLF solid-state laser system for harsh environments has been developed. It emits 2ns pulses at a wavelength of 1053nm with a repetition rate of up to 50Hz and an energy of 1.5mJ. The beam propagation factor M²-has a value of 1.2. The total mass of the prototype electronics, consisting of an electronic board including pump diodes and thermal control to be accommodated with other electronics in a shared electronics box, and the complete solid-state laser head is 189g with further potential for mass reduction with respect to a flight model development. Applications of this laser system are amongst others laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for planetary surface exploration or short range altimetry.

As a consequence of the ongoing interest for deployment of laser systems into space, suitable optical components have to be developed and must be extensively space qualified to ensure reliable, continuous, and autonomous operation. The exposure to space environment can adversely affect the longevity of optics, mainly coatings, and lead to system degradation.

An ESA study has been taken by Lusospace Ltd and Surrey Satellite Techonoly Ltd (SSTL) into the use of optical Micro Eletro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) for earth Observation.

A review and analysis was undertaken of the Micro-Optical Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) available in the market with potential application in systems for Earth Observation. A summary of this review will be presented.

Following the review two space-instrument design concepts were selected for more detailed analysis. The first was the use of a MEMS device to remove cloud from Earth images. The concept is potentially of interest for any mission using imaging spectrometers. A spectrometer concept was selected and detailed design aspects and benefits evaluated. The second concept developed uses MEMS devices to control the width of entrance slits of spectrometers, to provide variable spectral resolution.

This paper will present a summary of the results of the study.

Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) could be key components in future generation of space instruments. In Earth Observation, Universe Observation and Planet Exploration, scientific return of the instruments must be optimized in future missions. MOEMS devices are based on the mature micro-electronics technology and in addition to their compactness, scalability, and specific task customization, they could generate new functions not available with current technologies. CNES has initiated a study with LAM and TAS for listing the new functions associated with several types of MEMS (programmable slits, programmable micro-diffraction gratings, micro-deformable mirrors). Instrumental applications are then derived and promising concepts are described.

Due to the relatively large number of optical Earth Observation missions at ESA, this area is interesting for new space technology developments. In addition to their compactness, scalability and specific task customization, optical MEMS could generate new functions not available with current technologies and are thus candidates for the design of future space instruments. Most mature components for space applications are the digital mirror arrays, the micro-deformable mirrors, the programmable micro diffraction gratings and tiltable micromirrors. A first selection of market-pull and techno-push concepts is done. In addition, some concepts are coming from outside Earth Observation. Finally two concepts are more deeply analyzed.

The first concept is a programmable slit for straylight control for space spectro-imagers. This instrument is a push-broom spectroimager for which some images cannot be exploited because of bright sources in the field-of-view. The proposed concept consists in replacing the current entrance spectrometer slit by an active row of micro-mirrors. The MEMS will permit to dynamically remove the bright sources and then to obtain a field-of-view with an optically enhanced signal-to-noise ratio.

The second concept is a push-broom imager for which the acquired spectrum can be tuned by optical MEMS. This system is composed of two diffractive elements and a digital mirror array. The first diffractive element spreads the spectrum. A micromirror array is set at the location of the spectral focal plane. By putting the micro-mirrors ON or OFF, we can select parts of field-of-view or spectrum. The second diffractive element then recombines the light on a push-broom detector. Dichroics filters, strip filter, band-pass filter could be replaced by a unique instrument.

Multi-object spectroscopy (MOS) is a powerful tool for space and ground-based telescopes for the study of the formation and evolution of galaxies. This technique requires a programmable slit mask for astronomical object selection.

We are engaged in a European development of micromirror arrays (MMA) for generating reflective slit masks in future MOS, called MIRA. The 100 x 200 μm² micromirrors are electrostatically tilted providing a precise angle. The main requirements are cryogenic environment capabilities, precise and uniform tilt angle over the whole device, uniformity of the mirror voltage-tilt hysteresis and a low mirror deformation.

A first MMA with single-crystal silicon micromirrors was successfully designed, fabricated and tested. A new generation of micromirror arrays composed of 2048 micromirrors (32 x 64) and modelled for individual addressing were fabricated using fusion and eutectic wafer-level bonding. These micromirrors without coating show a peak-to-valley deformation less than 10 nm, a tilt angle of 24° for an actuation voltage of 130 V. Individual addressing capability of each mirror has been demonstrated using a line-column algorithm based on an optimized voltage-tilt hysteresis. Devices are currently packaged, wire-bonded and integrated to a dedicated electronics to demonstrate the individual actuation of all micromirrors on an array. An operational test of this large array with gold coated mirrors has been done at cryogenic temperature (162 K): the micromirrors were actuated successfully before, during and after the cryogenic experiment. The micromirror surface deformation was measured at cryo and is below 30 nm peak-to-valley.

Key components in optical spectrometers are the gratings. Their influence on the overall infield straylight of the spectrometer depends not only on the technology used for grating fabrication but also on the potential existence of ghost images caused by irregularities of the grating constant. For the straylight analysis of spectrometer no general Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) model of gratings exist, as it does for optically smooth surfaces. These models are needed for the determination of spectrometer straylight background and for the calculation of spectrometer out of band rejection performances.

Within the frame of the Fluorescence Earth Explorer mission (FLEX), gratings manufactured using different technologies have been investigated in terms of straylight background and imaging performance in the used diffraction order. The gratings which have been investigated cover a lithographically written grating, a volume Bragg grating, two holographic gratings and an off-the-shelf ruled grating. In this paper we present a survey of the measured bidirectional reflectance/transmittance distribution function and the determination of an equivalent surface micro-roughness of the gratings, describing the scattering of the grating around the diffraction order. This is specifically needed for the straylight modeling of the spectrometer.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a 6.5 m diameter deployable telescope that will orbit the L2 Earth–Sun point beginning in 2018. NASA is leading the development of the JWST mission with their partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

The Canadian contribution to the mission is the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS). Originally, the FGS incorporated a flexible narrow spectral band science imaging capability in the form of the Tunable Filter Imaging Module –TFI, based on a scanning Fabry–Perot etalon. In the course of building and testing of the TFI flight model, numerous technical issues arose with unforeseeable length of required mitigation effort. In addition to that, emerging new science priorities caused that in summer of 2011 a decision was taken to replace TFI with a new instrument called Near Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph (NIRISS). NIRISS preserves most of the TFI opto-mechanical design: focusing mirror, collimator and camera TMA telescopes, dual filter and pupil wheel and detectors but, instead of a tunable etalon, uses set of filters and grisms for wavelength selection and dispersion. The FGS-Guider and NIRISS have completed their instrument-level cryogenic testing and were delivered to NASA Goddard in late July 2012 for incorporation into the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM).

We present the status of our immersed diffraction grating technology, as developed at SRON and of their multilayer optical coatings as developed at CILAS. Immersion means that diffraction takes place inside the medium, in our case silicon. The high refractive index of the silicon medium boosts the resolution and the dispersion. Ultimate control over the groove geometry yields high efficiency and polarization control. Together, these aspects lead to a huge reduction in spectrometer volume. This has opened new avenues for the design of spectrometers operating in the short-wave-infrared wavelength band. Immersed grating technology for space application was initially developed by SRON and TNO for the short-wave-infrared channel of TROPOMI, built under the responsibility of SSTL. This space spectrometer will be launched on ESA's Sentinel 5 Precursor mission in 2015 to monitor pollution and climate gases in the Earth atmosphere. The TROPOMI immersed grating flight model has technology readiness level 8. In this program CILAS has qualified and implemented two optical coatings: first, an anti-reflection coating on the entrance and exit facet of the immersed grating prism, which reaches a very low value of reflectivity for a wide angular range of incidence of the transmitted light; second, a metal-dielectric absorbing coating for the passive facet of the prism to eliminate stray light inside the silicon prism. Dual Ion Beam Sputtering technology with in-situ visible and infrared optical monitoring guarantees the production of coatings which are nearly insensitive to temperature and atmospheric conditions. Spectral measurements taken at extreme temperature and humidity conditions show the reliability of these multi-dielectric and metal-dielectric functions for space environment. As part of our continuous improvement program we are presently developing new grating technology for future missions, hereby expanding the spectral range, the blaze angles and grating size, while optimizing performance parameters like stray light and wavefront error. The program aims to reach a technology readiness level of 5 for the newly developed technologies by the end of 2012. An outlook will be presented.

New immersed grating technology is needed particularly for use in imaging spectrometers that will be used in sensing the atmosphere O₂A spectral band (750nm - 775 nm) at spectral resolution in the order of 0.1 nm whilst ensuring a high efficiency and maintaining low stray light. In this work, the efficiency, dispersion and stray light performance of an immersed grating are tested and compared to analytical models. The grating consists of an ion-beam etched grating in a fused-silica substrate of 120 mm x 120mm immersed on to a prism of the same material. It is designed to obtain dispersions > 0.30°/nm^-1 in air and >70% efficiency. The optical performance of the immersed grating is modelled and methods to measure its wavefront, efficiency, dispersion and scattered radiance are described. The optical setup allows the measurement of an 80mm beam diameter to derive the bidirectional scatter distribution function (BSDF) from the immersed grating from a minimum angle of 0.1° from the diffracted beam with angular resolution of 0.05°. Different configurations of the setup allow the efficiency and dispersion measurements using a tuneable laser in the 750nm-775nm range. The results from the tests are discussed with the suitability of the immersed gratings in mind for future space based instruments for atmospheric monitoring.

The special properties of Volume Bragg Gratings (VBGs) make them good candidates for spectrometry applications where high spectral resolution, low level of straylight and low polarisation sensitivity are required. Therefore it is of interest to assess the maturity and suitability of VBGs as enabling technology for future ESA missions with demanding requirements for spectrometry. The VBGs suitability for space application is being investigated in the frame of a project led by CSL and funded by the European Space Agency. The goal of this work is twofold: first the theoretical advantages and drawbacks of VBGs with respect to other technologies with identical functionalities are assessed, and second the performances of VBG samples in a representative space environment are experimentally evaluated. The performances of samples of two VBGs technologies, the Photo-Thermo-Refractive (PTR) glass and the DiChromated Gelatine (DCG), are assessed and compared in the Hα, O₂-B and NIR bands. The tests are performed under vacuum condition combined with temperature cycling in the range of 200 K to 300K. A dedicated test bench experiment is designed to evaluate the impact of temperature on the spectral efficiency and to determine the optical wavefront error of the diffracted beam. Furthermore the diffraction efficiency degradation under gamma irradiation is assessed. Finally the straylight, the diffraction efficiency under conical incidence and the polarisation sensitivity is evaluated.

Astrium has developed a product line of compact and versatile instruments for HR and VHR missions in Earth Observation.

These cameras consist on a Silicon Carbide Korsch-type telescope, a focal plane with one or several retina modules - including five lines CCD, optical filters and front end electronics - and the instrument main electronics.

Several versions have been developed with a telescope pupil diameter from 200 mm up to 650 mm, covering a large range of GSD (from 2.5 m down to sub-metric) and swath (from 10km up to 30 km) and compatible with different types of platform.

Nine cameras have already been manufactured for five different programs: ALSAT2 (Algeria), SSOT (Chile), SPOT6 & SPOT7 (France), KRS (Kazakhstan) and VNREDSat (Vietnam). Two of them have already been launched and are delivering high quality images.

A radiation resistant optical fiber used in a broadband source is presented. Both ASE source and Fiber Optical Gyroscope (FOG) commonly used in space missions, suffer from failures and degradation after long term exposure to radiative environment. The aim of this article is to present the results of our investigation on fiber and ASE source architecture in order to design a Radiation Resistant Erbium Doped Fiber that offers long term stability of the gyroscope performances.

A number of disciplines (mechanics, structures, thermal, and optics) are needed to design and build Space Camera. Separate design models are normally constructed by each discipline CAD/CAE tools. Design and analysis is conducted largely in parallel subject to requirements that have been levied on each discipline, and technical interaction between the different disciplines is limited and infrequent. As a result a unified view of the Space Camera design across discipline boundaries is not directly possible in the approach above, and generating one would require a large manual, and error-prone process.

A collaborative environment that is built on abstract model and performance template allows engineering data and CAD/CAE results to be shared across above discipline boundaries within a common interface, so that it can help to attain speedy multivariate design and directly evaluate optical performance under environment loadings.

A small interdisciplinary engineering team from Beijing Institute of Space Mechanics and Electricity has recently conducted a Structural/Thermal/Optical (STOP) analysis of a space camera with this collaborative environment. STOP analysis evaluates the changes in image quality that arise from the structural deformations when the thermal environment of the camera changes throughout its orbit. STOP analyses were conducted for four different test conditions applied during final thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing of the payload on the ground.

The STOP Simulation Process begins with importing an integrated CAD model of the camera geometry into the collaborative environment, within which 1. Independent thermal and structural meshes are generated. 2. The thermal mesh and relevant engineering data for material properties and thermal boundary conditions are then used to compute temperature distributions at nodal points in both the thermal and structures mesh through Thermal Desktop, a COTS thermal design and analysis code. 3. Thermally induced structural deformations of the camera are then evaluated in Nastran, an industry standard code for structural design and analysis. 4. Thermal and structural results are next imported into SigFit, another COTS tool that computes deformation and best fit rigid body displacements for the optical surfaces. 5. SigFit creates a modified optical prescription that is imported into CODE V for evaluation of optical performance impacts.

The integrated STOP analysis was validated using TVAC test data. For the four different TVAC tests, the relative errors between simulation and test data of measuring points temperatures were almost around 5%, while in some test conditions, they were even much lower to 1%. As to image quality MTF, relative error between simulation and test was 8.3% in the worst condition, others were all below 5%.

Through the validation, it has been approved that the collaborative design and simulation environment can achieved the integrated STOP analysis of Space Camera efficiently. And further, the collaborative environment allows an interdisciplinary analysis that formerly might take several months to perform to be completed in two or three weeks, which is very adaptive to scheme demonstration of projects in earlier stages.

Quantel has developed, in the frame of ALADIN and ATLID projects, diode pumped amplifier modules for space application. Design, laser and environmental performances will be presented. High energy output of 480mJ at 100Hz, amplification starting with 7mJ input, has been demonstrated at 1064 nm. Laser performances as beam pointing stability, shot to shot energy stability, M² have been demonstrated. Environmental qualification of this amplifier pump module has been successfully performed.

We present the development and complete spectral characterization of our compact and frequency-stabilized laser heads, to be used for rubidium atomic clocks and basic spectroscopy. The light source is a Distributed Feed-Back (DFB) laser diode emitting at 780 nm or 795 nm. The laser frequency is stabilized on a sub-Doppler absorption peak of the ⁸⁷Rb atom, obtained from an evacuated rubidium cell. These laser heads, including the electronics for the light signals detection, have an overall volume of 0.63 liters. We also present a variant of the laser head into which is integrated an Acousto-Optical Modulator (AOM) that precisely detunes the laser frequency in order to minimize the AC Stark shift in Rb atomic clocks.

Compressive sensing (sampling) is a novel technology and science domain that exploits the option to sample radiometric and spectroscopic signals at a lower sampling rate than the one dictated by the traditional theory of ideal sampling. In the paper some general concepts and characteristics regarding the use of compressive sampling in instruments devoted to Earth observation is discussed. The remotely sensed data is assumed to be constituted by sampled images collected by a passive device in the optical spectral range from the visible up to the thermal infrared, with possible spectral discrimination ability, e.g. hyperspectral imaging. According to recent investigations, compressive sensing necessarily employs a signal multiplexing architecture, which in spite of traditional expectations originates a significant SNR disadvantage.

For Space Activities, more and more Corner Cubes, used as solution for retro reflection of light (telemetry and positioning), are emerging worldwide in different projects. Depending on the application, they can be massive or hollow Corner Cubes. For corners as well as for any kind of space optics, it usual that use of light/lightened components is always a baseline for purpose of mass reduction payloads. But other parameters, such as the system stability under severe environment, are also major issues, especially for the corner cube systems which require generally very tight angular accuracies.

For the particular case of the hollow corner cube, an alternative solution to the usual cementing of the 3 reflective surfaces, has been developed with success in collaboration with CNES to guarantee a better stability and fulfill the weight requirements.. Another important parameter is the dihedral angles that have a great influence on the wavefront error. Two technologies can be considered, either a Corner Cubes array assembled in a very stable housing, or the irreversible adherence technology used for assembling the three parts of a cube. This latter technology enables in particular not having to use cement. The poster will point out the conceptual design, the manufacturing and control key-aspects of such corner cube assemblies as well as the technologies used for their assembling.

A high-precision and low-power miniaturized digital sun sensor has been developed at TNO. The single-chip sun sensor comprises an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) on which an active pixel sensor (APS), read-out and processing circuitry as well as communication circuitry are combined. The design was optimized for low recurrent cost. The sensor is albedo insensitive and the prototype combines an accuracy in the order of 0.03° with a mass of just 72 g and a power consumption of only 65 mW.

This paper presents Optoi’s Optocouplers, being developed in the frame of ESA’s European Component Initiative (Phase 2). Their design and main test results are reported, together with the plan of future activities, including the Evaluation Test Plan and radiation tests.

Up-link Laser Differential Absorption Sensing: ULDAS, shown in Fig.1, is a new method to measure green house gas concentration with earth observation satellites. Although the measurement area is restricted in only small visible area of an optical ground station, ULDAS has outstanding features as followed:

- Faster: Easy to development, small size and small resource requirements to satellite system

- Better: High accuracy (CO₂ observation error of weighted column is <0.3% which corresponds to 1ppm error of atmospheric concentration)

- Cheaper: Simple system, small number of parts and no special parts

The flight segment of the ULDAS is able to be loaded on a marginal resource of green house effect observation satellites, such as Japanese GOSAT-series. In this paper, the feasibility study of the mission concept and field experiments are reported.

Sentinel-5 is an atmospheric monitoring mission planned in the frame of the joint EU/ESA initiative Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). The objective of the mission, planned to be launched in 2020, is the operational monitoring of trace gas concentrations for atmospheric chemistry and climate applications.

The mid-IR spectral range is of particular interest for two main reasons: many molecules exhibit signature optical absorptions in this wavelength range and specific transmission windows within these wavelengths are available in the Earth’s atmosphere. Options for compact, reliable, high power mid-IR optical sources are currently rather limited by the difficulty of finding host materials that are both transparent in the mid-IR wavelengths range and sufficiently stable, robust and easy to fabricate. In this paper the relevant glass host materials suitable for the development of mid-IR coherent sources based on rare earths doping are briefly reviewed. The current state of the art in mid-IR fiber laser and supercontinuum sources is also presented.

Path length errors caused by beamwalk over the surface topography of optical components can have a detrimental influence on the accuracy of highly sensitive translational metrology, that is of particular relevance for In-Field Pointing payload concepts, investigated for the LISA space mission. This paper presents the results of our experimental and theoretical investigations in surface induced path length errors with a detailed characterisation of their magnitudes.

METIS (Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy) is an externally occulted coronagraph part of the Solar Orbiter payload. METIS innovative occulting system, called inverted externally occulter (IEO), consists of a circular aperture, IEO, that acts also as the entrance pupil of the instrument, and a solar disk rejection mirror (M0), placed at the bottom end of the coronagraph boom. M0 reflects back through IEO the solar disk radiation, letting the coronal radiation enter the coronagraph telescope. Light diffracted by IEO enters the telescope and has to be minimized with a proper shape of the IEO edge. The paper describes the theoretical results of the diffraction analysis extended to the scattered light by the primary mirror of the telescope onto the primary focal plane. A summary of the entire stray light reduction capabilities of METIS is also given.

CILAS is involved in a scientific project for SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research, on the development of multilayer coatings for the silicon immersed grating prism, which is a key component of the short-wave-infrared (SWIR) channel of the TROPOMI imaging spectrometer.

For the project, two specific coatings have been implemented and qualified by CILAS: first, an antireflection coating deposited on the entrance and exit facets of the immersed grating prism, which reaches a very low value of reflectivity in the infrared [2305nm; 2385nm] spectral range and for a wide angular range [0° to 47°] of incidence of the transmitted light, and second, a metal-dielectric absorbing coating for the third facet of the prism to eliminate parasitic light inside the silicon prism.

During past years, special efforts have been invested to develop optical links, both digital and analogue, for space applications, such as reference signal distribution or digital communication cables. The aim of this paper is to present the current DAS developments for these applications as well as future work to increase TRL levels and flight opportunities.

In Earth Observation instruments, observation of scenes including bright sources leads to an important degradation of the recorded signal. We propose a new concept to remove dynamically the bright sources and then obtain a field of view with an optically enhanced Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) could be key components in future generation of space instruments. MOEMS-based programmable slit masks will permit the straylight control in future Earth Observation instruments. Experimental demonstration of this concept has been conducted on a dedicated bench. This successful first demonstration shows the high potential of this new concept in future spectro-imager for Earth Observation.

METIS, the Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy, is the solar coronagraph foreseen for the ESA Solar Orbiter mission. METIS is conceived to image the solar corona from a near-Sun orbit in three different spectral bands: in the HeII EUV narrow band at 30.4 nm, in the HI UV narrow band at 121.6 nm, and in the polarized visible light band (590 – 650 nm). It also incorporates the capability of multi-slit spectroscopy of the corona in the UV/EUV range at different heliocentric heights.

METIS is an externally occulted coronagraph which adopts an “inverted occulted” configuration. The Inverted external occulter (IEO) is a small circular aperture at the METIS entrance; the Sun-disk light is rejected by a spherical mirror M0 through the same aperture, while the coronal light is collected by two annular mirrors M1-M2 realizing a Gregorian telescope. To allocate the spectroscopic part, one portion of the M2 is covered by a grating (i.e. approximately 1/8 of the solar corona will not be imaged).

This paper presents the error budget analysis for this new concept coronagraph configuration, which incorporates 3 different sub-channels: UV and EUV imaging sub-channel, in which the UV and EUV light paths have in common the detector and all of the optical elements but a filter, the polarimetric visible light sub-channel which, after the telescope optics, has a dedicated relay optics and a polarizing unit, and the spectroscopic sub-channel, which shares the filters and the detector with the UV-EUV imaging one, but includes a grating instead of the secondary mirror.

The tolerance analysis of such an instrument is quite complex: in fact not only the optical performance for the 3 sub-channels has to be maintained simultaneously, but also the positions of M0 and of the occulters (IEO, internal occulter and Lyot stop), which guarantee the optimal disk light suppression, have to be taken into account as tolerancing parameters.

In the aim of assuring the scientific requirements are optimally fulfilled for all the sub-channels, the preliminary results of manufacturing, alignment and stability tolerance analysis for the whole instrument will be described and discussed.

LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) is a proposed space-based instrument for astrophysical observations via the measurement of gravitational waves at mHz frequencies. The triangular constellation of the three LISA satellites will allow interferometric measurement of the changes in distance along the arms. On board each LISA satellite there will be two optical benches, one for each testmass, that measure the distance to the local test mass and to the remote optical bench on the distant satellite. For technology development, an Optical Bench Elegant Bread Board (OB EBB) is currently under construction. To verify the performance of the EBB, another optical bench - the so-called telescope simulator bench - will be constructed to simulate the beam coming from the far spacecraft. The optical beam from the telescope simulator will be superimposed with the light on the LISA OB, in order to simulate the link between two LISA satellites. Similarly in reverse, the optical beam from the LISA OB will be picked up and measured on the telescope simulator bench. Furthermore, the telescope simulator houses a test mass simulator. A gold coated mirror which can be manipulated by an actuator simulates the test mass movements. This paper presents the layout and design of the bench for the telescope simulator and test mass simulator.

We present the first steps executed to space qualify an assembly technique for miniaturized optical components that already demonstrated its maturity for the ground segment. Two different types of demonstrators have been manufactured and submitted to various tests: endurance demonstrators placed in simulated environment reproducing strong space environmental constraints that may potentially destroy the devices under test, and a functional demonstrator put in operational conditions as typically found in a satellite environment. The technology, the realized demonstrators and the results of the tests are reported.

The understanding of the solar outer atmosphere requires a simultaneous combination of imaging and spectral observations concerning the far UV lines that arise from the high chromospheres up to the corona. These observations must be performed with enough spectral, spatial and temporal resolution to reveal the small atmospheric structures and to resolve the solar dynamics. An Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer working in the far-UV (IFTSUV, Figure 1) is an attractive instrumental solution to fulfill these requirements. However, due to the short wavelength, to preserve IFTSUV spectral precision and Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) requires a high optical surface quality and a very accurate (linear and angular) metrology to maintain the optical path difference (OPD) during the entire scanning process by: optical path difference sampling trigger; and dynamic alignment for tip/tilt compensation (Figure 2).

Recent advances in the field of ultra-short pulse lasers have led to the development of reliable sources of carrier envelope phase stabilized femtosecond pulses. The pulse train generated by such a source has a frequency spectrum that consists of discrete, regularly spaced lines known as a frequency comb. In this case both the frequency repetition and the carrier-envelope-offset frequency are referenced to a frequency standard, like an atomic clock. As a result the accuracy of the frequency standard is transferred to the optical domain, with the frequency comb as transfer oscillator. These unique properties allow the frequency comb to be applied as a versatile tool, not only for time and frequency metrology, but also in fundamental physics, high-precision spectroscopy, and laser noise characterization. The pulse-to-pulse phase relationship of the light emitted by the frequency comb has opened up new directions for long range highly accurate distance measurement.

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2[1] (GOME-2) represents one of the European instruments carried on board the MetOp satellite within the ESA’s “Living Planet Program”. Consisting of three flight models (FM’s) it is intended to provide long-term monitoring of atmospheric ozone and other trace gases over a time frame of 15-20 years, thus contributing valuable input towards climate and atmospheric research and providing near real-time data for use in air quality forecasting.

The ambition to achieve highly accurate scientific results requires a thorough calibration and characterization of the instrument prior to launch. These calibration campaigns were performed by TNO in Delft in the Netherlands, in the “Thermal Vacuum Calibration Facility” of the institute.

Due to refurbishment and / or storage of the instruments over a period of a few years, several re-calibration campaigns were necessary. These re-calibrations provided the unique opportunity to study the effects of long term storage and build up statistics on the instrument as well as the calibration methods used.

During the re-calibration of the second flight model a difference was found in the radiometric calibration output, which was not understood initially. In order to understand the anomalies on the radiometry, a deep investigation was performed using numerous variations of the setup and different sources. The major contributor was identified to be a systematic error in the alignment, for which a correction was applied. Apart from this, it was found that the geometry of the sources influenced the results. Based on the calibration results combined with a theoretical geometrical hypothesis inferred that the on-ground calibration should mimic as close as possible the in-orbit geometry.

SCOUT is the acronym of the new facility developed within the XUVLab laboratory of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence. SCOUT stands for “Small Chamber for Optical UV Tests” and has been designed to perform practical and fast measurements for those experiments requiring an evacuated environment. SCOUT has been thought, designed and manufactured by paying a particular attention to its flexibility and adaptability. The functionality and the capabilities of SCOUT have been recently tested in a measurement campaign to characterize an innovative wire-grid polarizer optimized to work in transmission in the UV band.

This paper provides a description of the overall manufactured system and its performance and shows the additional resources available at the XUVLab laboratory in Florence that make SCOUT exploitable by whatever compact (within 1 m) optical experiment that investigates the UV band of the spectrum.

We report on the development of a prototype solidstate ring laser gyro based on a diode-pumped neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet crystal as the gain medium. We describe in this paper how we circumvent mode competition between the counter-propagating modes using a feedback loop acting on the differential losses. We then show how the non-linear frequency response can be significantly improved by vibrating the gain medium along the laser axis, leading to a behavior similar as a typical Helium-Neon ring laser gyro. We finally discuss the undergoing improvements for achieving high inertial performance with this device, with significant potential benefits in terms of cost and robustness as compared to other highperformance gyro technologies.

Atom chips [1] are an efficient tool for trapping, cooling and manipulating cold atoms, which could open the way to a new generation of compact atomic sensors addressing space applications. This is in particular due to the fact that they can achieve strong magnetic field gradients near the chip surface, hence strong atomic confinement at moderate electrical power. However, this advantage usually comes at the price of reducing the optical access to the atoms, which are confined very close to the chip surface. We will report at the conference experimental investigations showing how these limits could be pushed farther by using an atom chip made of a gold microcircuit deposited on a single-crystal Silicon Carbide (SiC) substrate [2]. With a band gap energy value of about 3.2 eV at room temperature, the latter material is transparent at 780nm, potentially restoring quasi full optical access to the atoms. Moreover, it combines a very high electrical resistivity with a very high thermal conductivity, making it a good candidate for supporting wires with large currents without the need of any additional electrical insulation layer [3].

We report on the development of measurement facilities for the calibration of ultra-precision displacement sensors and for the dimensional stability validation of materials, joint structures and sensors. A Fabry-Pérot interferometer and a double-ended heterodyne interferometer are discussed, both with a dedicated design aiming for sub-nanometer displacement measurement accuracy.

The primary and secondary mirrors of onaxis three mirror anastigmatic (TMA) space camera are connected and supported by its front mirror-body structure, which affects both imaging performance and stability of the camera. In this paper, the carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) thin-walled cylinder and titanium alloy connecting rod have been used for the front mirror-body opto-mechanical structure of the long-focus on-axis and TMA space camera optical system. The front mirror-body component structure has then been optimized by finite element analysis (FEA) computing. Each performance of the front mirror-body structure has been tested by mechanics and vacuum experiments in order to verify the validity of such structure engineering design.

Today more and more small Earth Observation satellites are under development. All of them are very ambitious and needs accurate on ground calibration. A typical case is PROBA V payload where to ensure the continuity of Vegetation data, an instrument responding to the same user requirements as Vegetation was build, but with an overall mass of about 30 kg, instead of the 130 kg of VGT. Because a very high level of performances is required these need to be verified and calibrated with a high level of accuracy. This paper presents the calibration facility developed for the testing of small Earth Observation payloads as PROBA V. The facility needs to address the geometrical and radiometric calibration of the payload. To achieve this, a 400 mm clear aperture off axis collimator with a dedicated focal plane is developed for the geometrical calibration and a 300 mm integrating sphere calibrated at the LNE is used for the radiometric calibration. To access all the Field Of View, the payload is placed on a rotating tip tilt table allowing rotation of +/- 180° for across track Field Of View scanning and +/-10° for along track scanning. The payload is surrounded by thermal shroud to provide the required thermal environment.

Lasers with sub-hertz line-width and fractional frequency instability around 1×10^-15 for 0.1 s to 10 s averaging time are currently realized by locking onto an ultra-stable Fabry-Perot cavity using the Pound-Drever-Hall method. This powerful method requires tight alignment of free space optical components, precise polarization adjustment and spatial mode matching. To circumvent these issues, we use an all-fiber Michelson interferometer with a long fiber spool as a frequency reference and a heterodyne detection technique with a fibered acousto optical modulator (AOM)¹. At low Fourier frequencies, the frequency noise of our system is mainly limited by mechanical vibrations, an issue that has already been explored in the field of optoelectronic oscillators.^2,3,4