SPHERE-IRDIS assembly, integration and testing: from bits and metal to a planet-hunting machine

摘要

SPHERE, a second-generation instrument for the VLT, is currently under performance validation before shipping toChile. The IRDIS sub-system, an Infra-Red Dual-Imager and Spectrograph, was integrated on the SPHERE bench lastDecember, and this paper tells the story of the 12 months preceding this milestone: the Assembly, integration and Tests(AIT) performed at Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille (LAM). Key points of the AIT strategy are then presented,and the successes and failures---human, technical, and managerial---of this adventure are discussed. We also report onthe excellent optical quality achieved, paramount to guarantee ultimate performance of the SPHERE instrument, thanksto high-quality optical manufacture and a successfully applied alignment strategy.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.