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To this end, a dynamic laser ranging instrument is presented, which has compact dimensions and is fully integrated on a single Zerodur baseplate. The instrument performance will be evaluated in a dedicated test setup providing a flat-top beam simulating the laser beam received from a distant spacecraft, including a beam steering subsystem, which allows for monitoring of pathlength variations when the angle of incidence at the optical instrument is changing.
Both setups use a baseplate made of glass material where the optical components are joint using a specific assembly-integration technology. Compared to the EBB setup, the EM setup is further developed with respect to compactness and mechanical and thermal stability. The EM setup uses a baseplate made of fused silica with dimensions of 380 x 180 x 40 mm3 and a specifically designed 100 x 100 x 30 mm3 rectangular iodine cell in nine-pass configuration with a specific robust cold finger design. The EM setup was subjected to thermal cycling and vibrational testing.
Applications of such an optical frequency reference in space can be found in fundamental physics, geoscience, Earth observation, and navigation & ranging. One example is the proposed mSTAR (mini SpaceTime Asymmetry Research) mission, dedicated to perform a Kennedy-Thorndike experiment on a satellite in a sunsynchronous low-Earth orbit. By comparing an iodine standard to a cavity-based frequency reference and integration over 2 year mission lifetime, the Kennedy-Thorndike coefficient will be determined with up to two orders of magnitude higher accuracy than the current best ground experiment. In a current study, the compatibility of the payload with the SaudiSat-4 host vehicle is investigated.
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