Alignment of vacuum feed stations on the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer

James H. Clark III; James Murphy; Long Ha; Joshua P. Walton; James Howard; J. Thomas Armstrong; G. Charmaine Gilbreath; Robert B. Hindsley; Thomas A. Pauls

doi:10.1117/12.550867

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20 October 2004 Alignment of vacuum feed stations on the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer

James H. Clark III, James Murphy, Long Ha, Joshua P. Walton, James Howard, J. Thomas Armstrong, G. Charmaine Gilbreath, Robert B. Hindsley, Thomas A. Pauls

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Proceedings Volume 5491, New Frontiers in Stellar Interferometry; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.550867
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

At the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) we have developed a two-stage method for preparation and installation of the optical feed relay stations (elevators). This method reduces contamination, increases consistency, and allows greater management in testing and upgrades. In stage one, we prepare a pre-alignment facility in a laboratory. Using this facility we accurately position the feed stations, internal optics and detector optics relative to the NPOI array line-of-sight. The feed station is cleaned, assembled, internally aligned, tested and placed in its vacuum canister. It is stored under vacuum until transported to the array. In stage two, we align the station on the array by global five-axis adjustments of the vacuum canister. No further independent internal alignments are necessary. The canister is continuously under vacuum during global alignments. We describe the methodology and techniques for installing the optical feed stations.

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James H. Clark III, James Murphy, Long Ha, Joshua P. Walton, James Howard, J. Thomas Armstrong, G. Charmaine Gilbreath, Robert B. Hindsley, and Thomas A. Pauls "Alignment of vacuum feed stations on the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer", Proc. SPIE 5491, New Frontiers in Stellar Interferometry, (20 October 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.550867

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