Report on holographic tests at S-band and K-band on the DSS-63 64 metre antenna

Abstract

High resolution holographic tests were carried out on DSS-63 at S-band and K-band during May l985. These tests followed a mechanical retrofit which involved the addition of structural bracing to the backing structure. Geosynchronous satellite beacons were used as sources for the tests. At a resolution of 0.4m the S-band and K-band tests revealed rms deviations of the surface to be 2.73mm and 1.53mm, respectively. The difference between these two results is thought to be due mainly to contamination of the S-band surface error map by expected and generally predictable subreflector diffraction effects. The S-band map is also known to be contaminated by diffraction from the subreflector support struts and has a higher noise level than the K-band map. A list of corrections to be applied to the reflector panels is derived from the K-band map. These corrections are predicted to reduce the rms deviation from 1.53mm to 0.86mm at 0.4m resolution. Comparison with results obtained before the mechanical retrofit suggests the major effect of the added structural bracing to be reduction of a third order deformation of the reflector about its axis