A prototype of the NFIRAOS to instrument thermo-mechanical interface

NFIRAOS is the first light adaptive optics system for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). NFIRAOS components are maintained at a stable -30°C ±0.5°C by embedding an actively cooled refrigeration system in the walls of the NFIRAOS enclosure. Three instruments are attached to interface ports in the NFIRAOS enclosure and are required to be thermally stable while the instrument rotates in place. Additionally, instruments must be installed and removed while NFIRAOS is cold to avoid lengthy cool-down cycles. A portion of the actively cooled enclosure system and the interface has been prototyped at NRC-Herzberg. We present a description of the design of the interface and results of testing so far and lessons learned.