25 research outputs found

    Pilot optical alignment

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    PILOT (Polarized Instrument for Long wavelength Observations of the Tenuous interstellar medium) is a balloonborne astronomy experiment designed to study the polarization of dust emission in the diffuse interstellar medium in our Galaxy. The PILOT instrument allows observations at wavelengths 240 ÎŒm (1.2THz) with an angular resolution about two arc-minutes. The observations performed during the first flight in September 2015 at Timmins, Ontario Canada, have demonstrated the optical performances of the instrument

    Performance validation of a high-bandwidth fine steering mirror for optical communications

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    This paper presents the first test results of a novel Fine Steering Mirror (FSM) for optical communication terminals. The FSM utilizes efficient variable reluctance actuators, tailored for the specific application, making it highly compact and power efficient. The test results demonstrate a high dynamical performance of <1.7kHz closed-loop bandwidth, and an optical angular range of more than ±2° in two axes. The actual optical angular jitter is less than 1.5 Όrad. These numbers demonstrate that this FSM is highly suitable for the evolving field of inter-satellite laser communications
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