Assembly, alignment and test of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) optical assemblies

Gregory Balonek; Joshua J. Brown; James E. Andre; Christian D. Chesbrough; Michael P. Chrisp; Michael Dalpiaz; Joseph Lennon; B. C. Richards; Kristin E. Clark

doi:10.1117/12.2275882

22 August 2017 Assembly, alignment and test of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) optical assemblies

Gregory Balonek, Joshua J. Brown, James E. Andre, Christian D. Chesbrough, Michael P. Chrisp, Michael Dalpiaz, Joseph Lennon, B. C. Richards, Kristin E. Clark

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10377, Optical System Alignment, Tolerancing, and Verification XI; 103770J (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2275882
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2017, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will carry four visible waveband, seven-element, refractive F/1.4 lenses, each with a 34 degree diagonal field of view. This paper describes the methods used for the assembly, alignment and test of the four flight optical assemblies. Prior to commencing the build of the four flight optical assemblies, a Risk Reduction Unit (RRU) was successfully assembled and tested [1]. The lessons learned from the RRU were applied to the build of the flight assemblies. The main modifications to the flight assemblies include the inking of the third lens element stray light mitigation, tighter alignment tolerances, and diamond turning for critical mechanical surfaces. Each of the optical assemblies was tested interferometrically and measured with a low coherence distance measuring interferometer (DMI) to predict the optimal shim thickness between the lens assembly and detector before -75°C environmental testing. In addition to individual test data, environmental test results from prior assemblies allow for the exploration of marginal performance differences between each of the optical assemblies.

Conference Presentation

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Gregory Balonek, Joshua J. Brown, James E. Andre, Christian D. Chesbrough, Michael P. Chrisp, Michael Dalpiaz, Joseph Lennon, B. C. Richards, and Kristin E. Clark "Assembly, alignment and test of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) optical assemblies", Proc. SPIE 10377, Optical System Alignment, Tolerancing, and Verification XI, 103770J (22 August 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2275882

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