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Hi-5 is the L'-band (3.5-4.0 $\mu$m) high-contrast imager of Asgard, an instrument suite in preparation for the visitor focus of the VLTI. The system is optimized for high-contrast and high-sensitivity imaging within the diffraction limit of a single UT/AT telescope. It is designed as a double-Bracewell nulling instrument producing spectrally-dispersed (R=20, 400, or 2000) complementary nulling outputs and simultaneous photometric outputs for self-calibration purposes. In this paper, we present an update of the project with a particular focus on the overall architecture, opto-mechanical design of the warm and cold optics, injection system, and development of the photonic beam combiner. The key science projects are to survey (i) nearby young planetary systems near the snow line, where most giant planets are expected to be formed, and (ii) nearby main sequence stars near the habitable zone where exozodiacal dust that may hinder the detection of Earth-like planets. We present an update of the expected instrumental performance based on full end-to-end simulations using the new GRAVITY+ specifications of the VLTI and the latest planet formation models., Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, SPIE 2022 "Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation" manuscript 12183-16

ispartof: SPACE TELESCOPES AND INSTRUMENTATION 2022: OPTICAL, INFRARED, AND MILLIMETER WAVE vol:12180 ispartof: Conference on Space Telescopes and Instrumentation - Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave location:CANADA, Montreal date:17 Jul - 22 Jul 2022 status: published

Hi-5 is an ERC-funded project hosted at KU Leuven and a proposed visitor instrument for the VLTI. Its primary goal is to image the snow line region around young planetary systems using nulling interferometry in the L’ band, between 3.5 and 4.1 μm, where the contrast between exoplanets and their host stars is very advantageous. The breakthrough is the use of a photonic chip based beam combiner, which only recently allowed the required theoretical raw contrast of 10−3 in this spectral range. The VLTI long baseline interferometry enables to reach high angular resolution (4.2 mas at 3.8 μm wavelength with the Auxiliary Telescopes (ATs)), while high contrast detection is achieved using nulling interferometry. This polarisation requires a high degree of optical symmetry between the four pupils of the VLTI, only possible with precise phase, dispersion and intensity control systems. The instrument is currently in its design phase. In this paper, the warm optics design and the injection system up to the photonic chip are presented. The different properties of the design are presented including the optics used, the characteristics of the four beams and the current drawbacks. Particular attention is devoted to the optical alignment and the tolerance analysis in order to estimate the precision required for the alignment procedure and therefore to choose adapted optical mountings.

Context. NOTT (formerly Hi-5) is a new high-contrast L′ band (3.5-4.0 μm) beam combiner for the VLTI designed with an ambitious aim to be sensitive to young giant exoplanets down to 5 mas separation around nearby stars. The performance of nulling interferometers in these wavelengths is affected both by fundamental noise from the background and contributions of instrumental noise. This motivates the development of end-to-end simulations to optimize these instruments. Aims. The aim of this study is to enable a performance evaluation of NOTT and inform the design of such instruments with current and future infrastructures in mind, taking into account the different sources of noise and their correlation. Methods. SCIFYsim is an end-to-end simulator for single-mode-filtered beam combiners, with an emphasis on nulling interferometers. We use it to compute a covariance matrix of the errors. We then use statistical detection tests based on likelihood ratios to compute compound detection limits for the instrument. Results. With the current assumptions as to the performance of the wavefront correction systems, the errors are dominated by correlated instrumental errors down to stars of magnitude 6-7 in the L band, beyond which thermal background from the telescopes and relay system becomes dominant. Conclusions. SCIFYsim is suited to anticipating some of the challenges of design, tuning, operation, and signal processing for integrated-optics beam combiners. The detection limits found for this early version of NOTT simulation with the unit telescopes are compatible with detections at contrasts up to 105 in the L band at separations of 5-80 mas around bright stars., Astronomy & Astrophysics, 671, ISSN:0004-6361, ISSN:1432-0746

Context.The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) is part of the remote sensing instrument package of the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter mission that will explore the inner heliosphere and observe the Sun from vantage points close to the Sun and out of the ecliptic. Solar Orbiter will advance the “connection science” between solar activity and the heliosphere.Aims.With EUI we aim to improve our understanding of the structure and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, globally as well as at high resolution, and from high solar latitude perspectives.Methods.The EUI consists of three telescopes, the Full Sun Imager and two High Resolution Imagers, which are optimised to image in Lyman-αand EUV (17.4 nm, 30.4 nm) to provide a coverage from chromosphere up to corona. The EUI is designed to cope with the strong constraints imposed by the Solar Orbiter mission characteristics. Limited telemetry availability is compensated by state-of-the-art image compression, onboard image processing, and event selection. The imposed power limitations and potentially harsh radiation environment necessitate the use of novel CMOS sensors. As the unobstructed field of view of the telescopes needs to protrude through the spacecraft’s heat shield, the apertures have been kept as small as possible, without compromising optical performance. This led to a systematic effort to optimise the throughput of every optical element and the reduction of noise levels in the sensor.Results.In this paper we review the design of the two elements of the EUI instrument: the Optical Bench System and the Common Electronic Box. Particular attention is also given to the onboard software, the intended operations, the ground software, and the foreseen data products.Conclusions.The EUI will bring unique science opportunities thanks to its specific design, its viewpoint, and to the planned synergies with the other Solar Orbiter instruments. In particular, we highlight science opportunities brought by the out-of-ecliptic vantage point of the solar poles, the high-resolution imaging of the high chromosphere and corona, and the connection to the outer corona as observed by coronagraphs.

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument for the Solar Orbiter mission will image the solar corona in the extreme ultraviolet (17.1 nm and 30.4 nm) and in the vacuum ultraviolet (121.6 nm). It is composed of three channels, each one containing a telescope. Two of these channels are high resolution imagers (HRI) at respectively 17.1 nm (HRI-EUV) and 121.6 nm (HRI-Ly∝), each one composed of two off-axis aspherical mirrors. The third channel is a full sun imager (FSI) composed of one single off-axis aspherical mirror and working at 17.1 nm and 30.4 nm alternatively. This paper presents the optical alignment of each telescope. The alignment process involved a set of Optical Ground Support Equipment (OGSE) such as theodolites, laser tracker, visible-light interferometer as well as a 3D Coordinates Measuring Machine (CMM). The mirrors orientation have been measured with respect to reference alignment cubes using theodolites. Their positions with respect to reference pins on the instrument optical bench have been measured using the 3D CMM. The mirrors orientations and positions have been adjusted by shimming of the mirrors mount during the alignment process. After this mechanical alignment, the quality of the wavefront has been checked by interferometric measurements, in an iterative process with the orientation and position adjustment to achieve the required image quality.

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument for the Solar Orbiter mission will image the solar corona in the extreme ultraviolet (17.1 nm and 30.4 nm) and in the vacuum ultraviolet (121.6 nm) spectral ranges. The development of the EUI instrument has been successfully completed with the optical alignment of its three channels’ telescope, the thermal and mechanical environmental verification, the electrical and software validations, and an end-toend on-ground calibration of the two-units’ flight instrument at the operating wavelengths. The instrument has been delivered and installed on the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, which is now undergoing all preparatory activities before launch.

Large reflectors and antennas for the IR to mm wavelength range are being planned for many Earth observation and astronomical space missions and for commercial communication satellites as well. Scientific observatories require large telescopes with precisely shaped reflectors for collecting the electro-magnetic radiation from faint sources. The challenging tasks of on-ground testing are to achieve the required accuracy in the measurement of the reflector shapes and antenna structures and to verify their performance under simulated space conditions (vacuum, low temperatures). Due to the specific surface characteristics of reflectors operating in these spectral regions, standard optical metrology methods employed in the visible spectrum do not provide useful measurement results. The current state-of-the-art commercial metrology systems are not able to measure these types of reflectors because they have to face the measurement of shape and waviness over relatively large areas with a large deformation dynamic range and encompassing a wide range of spatial frequencies. 3-D metrology (tactile coordinate measurement) machines are generally used during the manufacturing process. Unfortunately, these instruments cannot be used in the operational environmental conditions of the reflector. The application of standard visible wavelength interferometric methods is very limited or impossible due to the large relative surface roughnesses involved. A small number of infrared interferometers have been commercially developed over the last 10 years but their applications have also been limited due to poor dynamic range and the restricted spatial resolution of their detectors. These restrictions affect also the surface error slopes that can be captured and makes their application to surfaces manufactured using CRFP honeycomb technologies rather difficult or impossible. It has therefore been considered essential, from the viewpoint of supporting future ESA exploration missions, to develop and realise suitable verification tools based on infrared interferometry and other optical techniques for testing large reflector structures, telescope configurations and their performances under simulated space conditions. Two methods and techniques are developed at CSL. The first one is an IR-phase shifting interferometer with high spatial resolution. This interferometer shall be used specifically for the verification of high precision IR, FIR and sub-mm reflector surfaces and telescopes under both ambient and thermal vacuum conditions. The second one presented hereafter is a holographic method for relative shape measurement. The holographic solution proposed makes use of a home built vacuum compatible holographic camera that allows displacement measurements from typically 20 nanometres to 25 microns in one shot. An iterative process allows the measurement of a total of up to several mm of deformation. Uniquely the system is designed to measure both specular and diffuse surfaces.

Proba-V payload is a successor of the Vegetation instrument, a multispectral imager flown on Spot-4 and subsequently on Spot-5, French satellites for Earth Observation and defence. The instrument, with its wide field of view, is capable of covering a swath of 2200 km, which, in combination with a polar low Earth orbit, guarantees a daily revisit. The lifetime of Spot-5 expires in early 2013, and to ensure the continuity of vegetation data, BELSPO, the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, supported the development of an instrument that could be flown on a Proba type satellite, a small satellite developed by the Belgian QinetiQ Space (previously known as Verhaert Space). The challenge of this development is to produce an instrument responding to the same user requirements as Vegetation, but with an overall mass of about 30 kg, while the Vegetation instrument mass is 130 kg. This development had become feasible thanks to a number of new technologies that have been developed since the nineties, when Vegetation was first conceived, namely Single Point Diamond Turning fabrication of aspherical mirrors and efficient VNIR and SWIR detectors. The Proba-V payload is based on three identical reflective telescopes using highly aspherical mirrors in a TMA (Three Mirrors Anastigmat) configuration. Each telescope covers a field of view of 34° to reach the required swath. One of the challenges in the development of the PROBA-V instrument is the efficient reduction of stray light. Due to the mass and volume constraints it was not possible to implement a design with an intermediate focus to reduce the stray light. The analysis and minimization of the in-field stray light is an important element of the design because of the large FOV and the surface roughness currently achievable with the Single Point Diamond Turning. This document presents the preliminary baffle layout designed for the Three Mirrors Anastigmatic (TMA) telescope developed for the Proba-V mission. This baffling is used to avoid 1st order stray light i.e. direct stray light or through reflections on the mirrors. The stray light from the SWIR folding mirror is also studied. After these preliminary analyses the mechanical structure of the TMA is designed then verified in term of vignetting and stray light.

The EUV high resolution imager (HRI) channel of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on-board Solar Orbiter will observe the solar atmospheric layers at 17.4 nm wavelength with a 200 km resolution. The HRI channel is based on a compact two mirrors off-axis design. The spectral selection is obtained by a multilayer coating deposited on the mirrors and by redundant Aluminum filters rejecting the visible and infrared light. The detector is a 2k x 2k array back-thinned silicon CMOS-APS with 10 μm pixel pitch, sensitive in the EUV wavelength range. Due to the instrument compactness and the constraints on the optical design, the channel performance is very sensitive to the manufacturing, alignments and settling errors. A trade-off between two optical layouts was therefore performed to select the final optical design and to improve the mirror mounts. The effect of diffraction by the filter mesh support and by the mirror diffusion has been included in the overall error budget. Manufacturing of mirror and mounts has started and will result in thermo-mechanical validation on the EUI instrument structural and thermal model (STM). Because of the limited channel entrance aperture and consequently the low input flux, the channel performance also relies on the detector EUV sensitivity, readout noise and dynamic range. Based on the characterization of a CMOS-APS back-side detector prototype, showing promising results, the EUI detector has been specified and is under development. These detectors will undergo a qualification program before being tested and integrated on the EUI instrument.

The “Association de Satellites Pour l'Imagerie et l'Interferometrie de la Couronne Solaire”, ASPIICS, selected by ESA for the PROBA-3 mission, heralds the next generation of coronagraph for solar research, exploiting formation flying to gain access to the inner corona under eclipse-like conditions for long periods of time. A detailed description of the ASPIICS instrument and of its scientific objectives can be found in [1]. ASPIICS is distributed on the two PROBA 3 spacecrafts (S/C) separated by 150 m. The coronagraph optical assembly is hosted by the “coronagraph S/C” protected from direct solar disk light by the occulting disk on the “occulter S/C”. The most critical issue in the design of a solar coronagraph is the reduction of the stray light due to the diffraction and scattering of the solar disk light by the occulter, the aperture and the optics. In the present article, we deal with two of these issues: - The analysis of the stray light inside the telescope. - The optimization of the external occulter edge, in order to eliminate the Poisson spot behind the occulter and to lower the stray light level going through the entrance pupil of the telescope. This work was performed in the framework of the ESA STARTIGER program which took place at the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM) during a 6-month period from September 2009 to March 2010. In general, it is a very complicated task to combine the above two stray light issues together in the simulation and design phase as it requires to consider the propagation inside the telescope of the light diffracted by the external occulter. Actually, the present literature only reports diffraction calculations performed for simple occulting systems (i.e., two disks and serrated disk). A more pragmatic approach, also driven by the tight schedule of the STARTIGER program, is to separate the two contributions, and perform two different stray light analyses. This paper is dedicated to the description of both analyses: in particular, the first part is dedicated to the evaluation of the stray light inside the telescope, assuming a simple disk as occulter, and a preliminary baffle design is presented; the second part describes the investigation on the geometry of the external occulter, with a detailed description of the laboratory setup that has been designed and implemented to compare together several types of occulting systems.

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument is one of the ten scientific instruments on board the Solar Orbiter mission to be launched in October 2018. It will provide full-sun and high-resolution images of the solar corona in the extreme ultraviolet (17.1 nm and 30.4 nm) and in the vacuum ultraviolet (121.6 nm). The validation of the EUI instrument design has been completed with the Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) of the instrument two-units Qualification Model (QM). Optical, electrical, electro-magnetic compatibility, thermal and mechanical environmental verifications were conducted and are summarized here. The integration and test procedures for the Flight Model (FM) instrument and sub-systems were also verified. Following the Qualification Review, the flight instrument activities were started with the assembly of the flight units. The mechanical and thermal acceptance tests and an end-to-end final calibration in the (E)UV will then be conducted before delivery for integration on the Solar Orbiter Spacecraft by end of 2016.

In the frame of the ICON (Ionospheric Connection Explorer) mission of NASA led by UC Berkeley, CSL and SSL Berkeley have designed in cooperation a new Far UV spectro-imager. The instrument is based on a Czerny-Turner spectrograph coupled with two back imagers. The whole field of view covers [± 12° vertical, ± 9° horizontal]. The instrument is surmounted by a rotating mirror to adjust the horizontal field of view pointing by ± 30°. To meet the scientific imaging and spectral requirements the instrument has been optimized. The optimization philosophy and related analysis are presented in the present paper. PSF, distortion map and spectral properties are described. A tolerance study and alignment cases were performed to prove the instrument can be built and aligned. Finally straylight and out of band properties are discussed.

The SECCHI Heliospheric Imager (HI) instruments on-board the STEREO spacecraft have been collecting images of solar wind transients, including coronal mass ejections, as they propagate through the inner heliosphere since the beginning of 2007.

In the framework of development of ASPIICS (Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun), the Centre Spatial de Liege is responsible of the optical design of the coronagraph and the optics will be manufactured by TOPTEC. The particularity of this coronagraph is to have an external occulter located 150 m ahead of the first imaging lens. This external occulter is re-imaged on an internal occulter which function is - as in a classical externally occulted Lyot coronagraph - to block the sun light diffracted by the external occulter and to reduce the straylight on the detector. The selection of this configuration is driven by the requirement to observe the corona as close as possible to the solar limb (i.e. 1 RSun) without imaging the limb itself. A requirement of 1.08 RSun is specified at optical design level to grant 1.2 Rsun at instrument level. The coronograph instrument is designed to have a field of view of 1.6° x 1.6° with a resolution of less than 6 arcsec. Its performances are limited by diffraction in a 530 - 590 nm wavelength range. This paper presents the optical design and demonstrates that by design the requirements are fulfilled within the misalignment, manufacturing and thermo-elastic error contributions.

International audience; The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) is one of the remote sensing instruments on-board the Solar Orbiter mission. It will provide dual-band full-Sun images of the solar corona in the extreme ultraviolet (17.1 nm and 30.4 nm), and high-resolution images of the solar disk in both extreme ultraviolet (17.1 nm) and vacuum ultraviolet (Lyman-alpha 121.6 nm). The EUI optical design takes heritage of previous similar instruments. The Full Sun Imager (FSI) channel is a single-mirror Herschel design telescope. The two High Resolution Imager (HRI) channels are based on a two-mirror optical refractive scheme, one Ritchey-Chretien and one Gregory optical design for the EUV and the Lyman-alpha channels, respectively. The spectral performances of the EUI channels are obtained thanks to dedicated mirror multilayer coatings and specific band-pass filters. The FSI channel uses a dual-band mirror coating combined with aluminum and zirconium band-pass filters. The HRI channels use optimized band-pass selection mirror coatings combined with aluminum band-pass filters and narrow band interference filters for Lyman-alpha. The optical performances result from accurate mirror manufacturing tolerances and from a two-step alignment procedure. The primary mirrors are first co-aligned. The HRI secondary mirrors and focal planes positions are then adjusted to have an optimum interferometric cavity in each of these two channels. For that purpose a dedicated alignment test setup has been prepared, composed of a dummy focal plane assembly representing the detector position. Before the alignment on the flight optical bench, the overall alignment method has been validated on the Structural and Thermal Model, on a dummy bench using flight spare optics, then on the Qualification Model to be used for the system verification test and qualifications.

PROBA-3 is a mission devoted to the in-orbit demonstration of precise formation flying techniques and technologies for future ESA missions. PROBA-3 will fly ASPIICS (Association de Satellites pour l’Imagerie et l’Interferometrie de la Couronne Solaire) as primary payload, which makes use of the formation flying technique to form a giant coronagraph capable of producing a nearly perfect eclipse allowing to observe the sun corona closer to the rim than ever before. The coronagraph is distributed over two satellites flying in formation (approx. 150m apart). The so called Coronagraph Satellite carries the camera and the so called Occulter Satellite carries the sun occulter disc. This paper is reviewing the design and evolution of the ASPIICS instrument as at the beginning of Phase C/D.

Solar Orbiter EUI instrument was submitted to a high solar flux to correlate the thermal model of the instrument. EUI, the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager, is developed by a European consortium led by the Centre Spatial de Liege for the Solar Orbiter ESA M-class mission. The solar flux that it shall have to withstand will be as high as 13 solar constants when the spacecraft reaches its 0.28AU perihelion. It is essential to verify the thermal design of the instrument, especially the heat evacuation property and to assess the thermo-mechanical behavior of the instrument when submitted to high thermal load. Therefore, a thermal balance test under 13 solar constants was performed on the first model of EUI, the Structural and Thermal Model. The optical analyses and experiments performed to characterize accurately the thermal and divergence parameters of the flux are presented; the set-up of the test, and the correlation with the thermal model performed to deduce the unknown thermal parameters of the instrument and assess its temperature profile under real flight conditions are also presented.

International audience; The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on-board the Solar Orbiter mission will provide full-sun and high-resolution image sequences of the solar atmosphere at selected spectral emission lines in the extreme and vacuum ultraviolet. After the breadboarding and prototyping activities that focused on key technologies, the EUI project has completed the design phase and has started the final manufacturing of the instrument and its validation. The EUI instrument has successfully passed its Critical Design Review (CDR). The process validated the detailed design of the Optical Bench unit and of its sub-units (entrance baffles, doors, mirrors, camera, and filter wheel mechanisms), and of the Electronic Box unit. In the same timeframe, the Structural and Thermal Model (STM) test campaign of the two units have been achieved, and allowed to correlate the associated mathematical models. The lessons learned from STM and the detailed design served as input to release the manufacturing of the Qualification Model (QM) and of the Flight Model (FM). The QM will serve to qualify the instrument units and sub-units, in advance of the FM acceptance tests and final onground calibration.

The Sun Watcher with Active Pixel System detector and Image Processing (SWAP) telescope was launched on 2 November 2009 onboard the ESA PROBA2 technological mission and has acquired images of the solar corona every one - two minutes for more than two years. The most important technological developments included in SWAP are a radiation-resistant CMOS-APS detector and a novel onboard data-prioritization scheme. Although such detectors have been used previously in space, they have never been used for long-term scientific observations on orbit. Thus SWAP requires a careful calibration to guarantee the science return of the instrument. Since launch we have regularly monitored the evolution of SWAP detector response in-flight to characterize both its performance and degradation over the course of the mission. These measurements are also used to reduce detector noise in calibrated images (by subtracting dark-current). Since accurate measurements of detector dark-current require large telescope off-points, we have also monitored straylight levels in the instrument to ensure that these calibration measurements are not contaminated by residual signal from the Sun. Here we present the results of these tests, and examine the variation of instrumental response and noise as a function of both time and temperature throughout the mission., 29 pages, 29 (colour) figures, 2 tables

This paper presents a new design of a planar solar concentrator for space applications focusing on two spatially separated PV cells, allowing independent control of output power of each cell. It has the advantages of both spectral splitting and solar concentration by the combination of a blaze transmission diffraction grating and a flat cylindrical Fresnel lens. An optical optimization has been realized and two variations of configuration have been developed to improve tracking tolerance: first, a design completed by secondary reflective concentrators and second, a symmetrical configuration composed of two lenses. First numerical results are presented, highlighting the possibility to design a concentrator at about 10×, with an electrical output power about 290W/mlens2 and less than 10% losses for tracking errors lower than ±0.9°.

The objective of this work is to demonstrate the correlation between a simple laboratory test bench case and the predictions of the OOFELIE Multiphysics software in order to deduce modeling guidelines and improvements. For that purpose two optical systems have been analyzed. The first one is a spherical lens fixed in an aluminium barrel, which is the simplest structure found in an opto-mechanical system. In this study, material characteristics are assumed to be well known: BK7 and aluminium have been retained. Temperature variations between 0 and +60°C from ambient have been applied to the samples. The second system is a YAG laser bar heated by means of a dedicated oven. For the two test benches thermo-elastic distortions have been measured using a Fizeau interferometer. This sensor measures wavefront error in the range of 20 nm to 1 μm without physical contact with the opto-mechanical system. For the YAG bar, birefringence and polarization measurements have also been performed using a polarimetric bench. The tests results have been compared to the predictions obtained by OOFELIE Multiphysics which is a simulation software dedicated to multiphysics coupled problems involving optics, mechanics, thermal physics, electricity, electromagnetism, acoustics and hydrodynamics. From this comparison modeling guidelines have been issued with the aim of improving the accuracy of computed thermo-elastic distortions and their impact on the optical performances.

PROBA-3 is a technology mission devoted to the in-orbit demonstration of formation flying techniques and technologies. PROBA-3 will implement a giant coronagraph (called ASPIICS) that will both demonstrate and exploit the capabilities and performances of formation flying. ASPIICS is distributed on two spacecrafts separated by 150m, one hosting the external occulting disk and the other the optical part of the coronagraph. This part implements a three-mirror-anastigmat (TMA) telescope. Its pupil is placed about 800mm in front of the primary mirror, a solution allowing an efficient baffling and a high reduction of the stray light inside the instrument. A complete stray light analysis of the TMA has been carried out to design the baffles and to establish the required roughness of the mirrors. The analysis has been performed in two steps: first, by calculating the diffraction pattern behind the occulter due to an extended monochromatic source having the diameter of the Sun; second, by propagating this diffraction pattern, through all the telescope optical components, to the prime focal plane. The results obtained are described in this article.

International audience; Formation Flying opens the possibility to conceive and deploy giant solar coronagraphs in space permanently reproducing the optimum conditions of a total eclipse of the Sun ("artificial" eclipse) thus giving access to the inner corona with unprecedented spatial resolution and contrast (low stray light). The first opportunity to implement such a coronagraph "ASPIICS" will be offered by the European Space Agency (ESA) PROBA-3 technology mission devoted to the in-orbit demonstration of formation flying technologies. Two spacecrafts separated by about 150 m form a giant externally-occulted coronagraph: the optical part hosted by one spacecraft remains entirely protected from direct sunlight by remaining in the shadow of an external occulter hosted by the other spacecraft. We developed and tested a scale-model 'breadboard' (i.e., 30m) of the PROBA-3/ASPIICS Formation Flying coronagraph. The investigations focused on two metrology systems capable of measuring both the absolute pointing of the coronagraph (by sensing the projected shadow and penumbra produced by the external occulting disk) and the alignment of the formation (by re-imaging light sources located on the rear-side of the occulting disk with the optical part of the coronagraph). In this contribution, we will describe the demonstrator and report on our results on the crucial question of the alignment and pointing in space of long instruments (> 100 m) with an accuracy of a few arcsec. This study has been conducted in the framework of an ESA "STARTIGER" Initiative, a novel approach aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of a new and promising technology on a very short time scale (six months).

Solar coronagraphs in formation ying require several mechanical and technological constraints to be met. One of the most critical issues is the external occulter design and its optimization. The occulter edge requires special attention in order to minimize the diraction while being compatible with the constraints of handling and integrating large delicate space components. Moreover, it is practically impossible to realize a full scale model for laboratory tests. This article describes the results of tests performed with a scaled-model breadboard of the ASPIICS coronagraph disk edge, using the Articial Sun facility at Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille.

The Heliospheric Imager (HI) is part of the SECCHI suite of instruments on-board the two STEREO observatories launched in October 2006. The two HI instruments provide stereographic image pairs of solar coronal plasma and coronal mass ejections (CME) over a field of view ranging from 13 to 330 R 0 . The HI instrument is a combination of two refractive optical systems with a two stage multi-vane baffle system. The key challenge of the instrument design is the rejection of the solar disk light by the front baffle, with total straylight attenuation at the detector level of the order of 10 -13 to 10 -15 . Optical systems and baffles were designed and tested to reach the required rejection. This paper presents the pre-flight optical tests performed under vacuum on the two HI flight models in flight temperature conditions. These tests included an end-to-end straylight verification of the front baffle efficiency, a co-alignment and an optical calibration of the optical systems. A comparison of the theoretical predictions of the instrument response and performance with the calibration results is presented. The instrument in-flight photometric and stray light performance are also presented and compared with the expected results.

This paper addresses the interferometric measurements performed on PLANCK Secondary reflector-Flight Model (SRFM) during the cryo-optical test at the Centre Spatial de Liege in Belgium. It was requested to measure the changes of the surface figure error (SFE) with respect to the best ellipsoid, between 293 K and 50 K, with a 1 μm RMS accuracy. To achieve this, Infra Red interferometry has been selected and a dedicated thermo mechanical set-up has been constructed. One emphasizes on the solutions adopted to cope with high surface slopes appearing at cryogenic temperature. Indeed, detector resolution has been exploited to resolve high density fringes at the expense of the aperture. A stitching procedure has been implemented to reconstruct the full aperture measurement with success. Test results are presented.

The next generation of infrared - sub mm space telescopes requires reflectors with large dimensions, high quality and, according to weight issues, are based on composite or new materials technology. The challenging tasks of on-ground testing are to achieve the required accuracy in the measurement of these reflectors shape and antenna structures and to verify their performance under simulated space conditions (vacuum, low-high temperatures). A holographic camera for the verification and validation of this type of reflector in a space environment is presented. A diffuser is implemented to measure the deformations of reflective surfaces in a more flexible way. The system has been made compatible with the vacuum conditions. Some elements of the holographic camera (camera lenses, CCD, crystal, optical fibre) have been adapted and tested under vacuum. The metrological certification of the whole system is realised by the measurement of a parabolic CFRP reflector with a 1.1 meter diameter. The results are compared to the one achieved with a high spatial resolution IR interferometer on the same reflector in laboratory conditions and under thermal vacuum conditions. This later test consists in measuring the deformations of the reflector between an initial state at a selected temperature and a final state at another temperature. The comparison between the high spatial resolution IR interferometer and this dynamic holographic method showed very good qualitative and quantitative agreement between the techniques, thus verifying the potential of this new Holographic approach.

The next generation of infrared - sub mm space telescopes requires some reflectors with large dimensions and high quality. These ones, according to weight issues, are based on composite materials for which the behaviors at low temperatures are badly known. A holographic interferometry method for the verification and validation of this type of reflectors in a space environment is presented. It is based on a dynamic holographic camera observing a diffuser illuminated by the object beam coming from the reflecting surface. Photorefractive crystals being self-processing and reusable mediums, the measuring range of the holographic camera is increased with respect to other optical interferometric methods. The metrological certification of the whole system was realised by the measurement of a parabolic antenna with a 1.1 meter diameter, a known behavior and placed in a simulated space environment.

Hi-5 is a proposed L' band high-contrast nulling interferometric instrument for the visitor focus of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). As a part of the ERC consolidator project called SCIFY (Self-Calibrated Interferometry For exoplanet spectroscopY), the instrument aims to achieve sufficient dynamic range and angular resolution to directly image and characterize the snow line of young extra-solar planetary systems. The spectrometer is based on a dispersive grism and is located downstream of an integrated optics beam-combiner. To reach the contrast and sensitivity specifications, the outputs of the I/O chip must be sufficiently separated and properly sampled on the Hawaii-2RG detector. This has many implications for the photonic chip and spectrometer design. We present these technical requirements, trade-off studies, and phase-A of the optical design of the Hi-5 spectrometer in this paper. For both science and contract-driven reasons, the instrument design currently features three different spectroscopic modes (R=20, 400, and 2000). Designs and efficiency estimates for the grisms are also presented as well as the strategy to separate the two polarization states.