Optical feeder link program and first adaptive optics test results

TNO and DLR envision optical free-space communication between ground stations and geostationary telecommunication satellites to replace the traditional RF links for the next generation of Very High Throughput Satellites. To mitigate atmospheric turbulence, an Adaptive Optics (AO) system will be used. TNO and DLR are developing breadboards to...

Performance of AO predictive control in the presence of non-stationary turbulence

Current high contrast imaging systems are limited at small angular separations, preventing the direct imaging of Earth-size exoplanets close to their host stars. One primary cause of this is the performance of the extreme adaptive optics (AO) system which is dominated by the servo-lag error at small angular separations. Prediction can be used to...

Gaia: Focus, straylight and basic angle

The Gaia all-sky astrometric survey is challenged by several issues affecting the spacecraft stability. Amongst them, we find the focus evolution, straylight and basic angle variations Contrary to pre-launch expectations, the image quality is continuously evolving, during commissioning and the nominal mission. Payload decontaminations and...

Wavefront-sensor-induced beam size error: Physical mechanism, sensitivity-analysis and correction method

When using a commonly-used quadri-wave lateral shearing interferometer wavefront sensor (QWLSI WFS) for beam size measurements on a high power CO2 laser, artefacts have been observed in the measured irradiance distribution. The grating in the QWLSI WFS not only generates the diffracted first orders that are required for introducing the shear,...

Gaia on-board metrology: Basic angle and best focus

The Gaia payload ensures maximum passive stability using a single material, SiC, for most of its elements. Dedicated metrology instruments are, however, required to carry out two functions: monitoring the basic angle and refocusing the telescope. Two interferometers fed by the same laser are used to measure the basic angle changes at the level...

Gaia in-orbit realignment: overview and data analysis

The ESA Gaia spacecraft has two Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors (WFS) on its focal plane. They are required to refocus the telescope in-orbit due to launch settings and gravity release. They require bright stars to provide good signal to noise patterns. The centroiding precision achievable poses a limit on the minimum stellar brightness...

Exploiting the spatiotemporal correlation in adaptive optics using data-driven H2-optimal control

A recently proposed data-driven H2-optimal control approach is demonstrated on a laboratory setup. Most adaptive optics (AO) systems are based on a control law that neglects the temporal evolution of the wavefront. The proposed control approach is able to exploit the spatiotemporal correlation in the wavefront without assuming any form of...