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Maintaining Flatness of a Large Aperture Potassium Bromide Beamsplitter through Mounting and VibrationThe Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) instrument on the Cassini Mission launched in October of 1997. The CIRS instrument contains a mid-infrared and a far-infrared interferometer and operates at 170 Kelvin. The mid-infrared interferometer is a Michelson- type Fourier transform spectrometer utilizing a 3 inch diameter potassium bromide beamsplitter/compensator pair. The potassium bromide elements were tested to verify effects of cooldown and vibration prior to integration into the instrument. The instrument was then aligned at ambient temperatures, tested cryogenically and re-verified after vibration. The stringent design optical figure requirements for the beamsplitter and compensator included fabrication errors, mounting stresses and vibration load effects. This paper describes the challenges encountered in mounting the elements to minimize distortion and to survive vibration.
Document ID
19990093012
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Losch, Patricia
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Lyons, James, III
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Morell, Armando
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Heaney, Jim
(Swales and Associates Beltsville, MD United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1998
Subject Category
Optics
Meeting Information
Meeting: Cryogenic Optical Systems and Instruments VIII
Location: San Diego, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 19, 1998
End Date: July 24, 1998
Sponsors: International Society for Optical Engineering
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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