The AWE AMTM is a widefield of view (WFOV) infrared imaging radiometer designed for use in measuring the P1(2) and P1(4) emission lines of the earth’s OH layer to determine temperature and produce images of gravity waves. The sensor was designed, built, and characterized by Utah State University (USU) Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) and has been externally mounted to the International Space Station (ISS) looking nadir to collect images for analysis for a minimum of two years. The Opto-Mechanical Assembly (OMA) consists of four identical imaging telescopes, each comprised of a fisheye lens, a field lens, and a re-imager lens and share a common filter wheel with four narrow band filters. The sixteen lenses in each telescope are coaligned and bonded into five stress stabilized aluminum lens barrels. Precision machining allowed the barrels to be mated together via mechanical tolerances (i.e., snap-to-fit) to form the fore and aft assemblies of each telescope that mount to the front and rear of a common, central tombstone assembly which houses the filter wheel mechanism. The detectors were aligned, supported, and thermally compensated via a titanium thermal compensator and custom focus shim attached to the aft end of each telescope. Following assembly, the OMA was environmentally tested including EMI/EMC, vibration, and thermal cycling. Prior to and following each environmental test, the point response function of each telescope was measured and compared to verify performance.
This paper will present an overview of the design, fabrication, assembly, integration, and environmental testing of the OMA.
The AWE AMTM is a wide field-of-view (WFOV) infrared imaging radiometer designed for use in measuring the P1(2) and P1(4) emission lines of the earths OH layer. From these measurements, the atmospheric temperature is determined and finally images of gravity waves will be produced as the AWE field of view transverses the OH layer. Designed, built, and characterized by Utah State University (USU) and its Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL), the sensor has been externally mounted to the International Space Station (ISS) looking nadir. Images will be collected and analyzed for a minimum of two years. The optical sensor assembly, also known as the Optomechanical Assembly (OMA), consists of four identical imaging telescopes, each comprised of a fisheye optical assembly, a field lens, and a re-imager optical assembly. The four telescopes share a common filter wheel with four narrow band filters. The 16 lenses in each telescope are coaligned and bonded into five aluminum lens barrels. The detectors were aligned, supported, and thermally compensated via a titanium thermal compensator and custom focus shim attached to the aft end of each telescope. Following assembly, the OMA was environmentally tested including EMI/EMC, vibration, and thermal cycling. Prior to and following each environmental test the point response function of each telescope was measured and compared to verify no degradation of performance had occurred. This paper will present an overview of the optical design, tolerance analysis, lens alignment, detector focusing, and image quality verification testing in vacuum of the OMA.
The Double Arm Linkage precision Linear motion (DALL) carriage has been developed as a simplified, rugged, high performance linear motion stage. Initially conceived as a moving mirror stage for the moving mirror of a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), it is applicable to any system requiring high performance linear motion. It is based on rigid double arm linkages connecting a base to a moving carriage through flexures. It is a monolithic design. The system is fabricated from one piece of material including the flexural elements, using high precision machining. The monolithic design has many advantages. There are no joints to slip or creep and there are no CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) issues. This provides a stable, robust design, both mechanically and thermally and is expected to provide a wide operating temperature range, including cryogenic temperatures, and high tolerance to vibration and shock. Furthermore, it provides simplicity and ease of implementation, as there is no assembly or alignment of the mechanism. It comes out of the machining operation aligned and there are no adjustments. A prototype has been fabricated and tested, showing superb shear performance and very promising tilt performance. This makes it applicable to both corner cube and flat mirror FTS systems respectively.
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