The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next flagship mission in astrophysics, is due for launch in May 2027 with an onboard Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) which will serve as a technology demonstrator for exoplanet direct imaging. The Roman Coronagraph will be capable of detecting and characterizing exoplanets and circumstellar disks in visible light at an unprecedented contrast level of ~108 or better at small separations. The instrument is equipped with six precision alignment mechanisms (PAMs) which enable ultra-stable, sub-micrometer positioning of optical elements such as coronagraphic masks, optical filters and polarizers. In order to achieve contrast level, which are 2 to 3 orders of magnitude better than state-of-the-art visible or near-infrared coronagraphs, the mechanisms need to be stable at sub-microradian levels during a typically 10 hour long science observation. We report here about the development of these mechanisms and present their performance test results from the qualification/flight acceptance test program. All PAM flight models were delivered in the year 2022 and integrated into the CGI flight instrument. Meanwhile CGI has successfully completed all testing at JPL and was shipped to NASA GSFC in May 2024 for final integration into the Roman spacecraft.
METIS, the Mid-infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), is one of the three firstgeneration science instruments, it has passed final design [1],[2] and is midway the Manufacturing, Assembly, Integration and verification (MAIV) phase. The Imager will be completely assembled and tested at MPIA in Heidelberg, Germany, before integration into the METIS instrument in Leiden, Netherlands. The Imager sub-system provides diffraction-limited imaging capabilities and low-resolution grism spectroscopy in two channels: the first covers the atmospheric L&M bands with a field of view of 11x11 arcsec, the second covers the N band, with a field of view of 14x14 arcsec. The two channels are equipped with a HAWAII-2RG detector for LM band and a GeoSnap detector for the N band, respectively [3],[5]. Challenging requirements suitable for high contrast imaging require a thorough integration and verification, particularly considering the size, complexity and the operating temperature of the instrument. Virtually, all components and units are in production or are already finished. The integration and verification of these units follow an MAIV plan including a detailed alignment scheme. The AIV part consists of three different phases: acceptance tests of components, alignment tasks, and verification of requirements. A dedicated test cryostat has been developed for the end-to-end verification to guarantee a smooth integration into the METIS instrument. Here, we present this MAIV process and describe in detail exemplary individual tasks of each phase to demonstrate the complexity of this stage of development and the managing of the challenging procedures. We also describe the tools and the corresponding setups used in the laboratory to execute the various tests, and the application of interferometric measurements at cryogenic conditions.
MICADO is the Multi-AO Imaging Camera for Deep Observations, a first light instrument for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The instrument will be assisted by a Single-Conjugate Adaptive Optics (SCAO) system and the Multiconjugate adaptive Optics Relay For ELT Observations (MORFEO). MICADO can operate in the so-called standalone mode in the absence of MORFEO with the SCAO correction alone. The Relay Optics (RO), is the optical system relaying the ELT focal plane to an appropriate position inside the MICADO cryostat for that SCAO-only stand-alone observing mode. After successfully passing the Final Design Review (FDR), the manufacturing of the RO is in full swing. We present here the current status of the ongoing assembly, integration and verification campaign (AIV), together with its upcoming challenges. The RO consists of an optical bench made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), an optical assembly made of three flat, motorized tip-tilt-piston mirrors (M1, M5 and M6) and three powered mirrors (M2, M3 and M4) of up to ~500 mm in diameter, the MICADO calibration assembly (MCA) including its deployable unit with a flat mirror (MDU) and a cover to protect all opto-mechanical components on top of the bench. The fabrication of the mirrors has started, while the machining of the mirror mounts is well ahead. The optical bench, as well as all other CFRP parts have been ordered and the manufacturing is completed. In order to get optimum performance and minimal wavefront error (WFE), the mirrors are tested in their mounts before carrying out the final polishing operations. Therefore, all mirror mounts are scheduled to be delivered to the mirror vendor QED Optics by the end of 2024.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.