AEOS radiometer system: a multichannel imaging radiometer

摘要

Abstract: A four channel imaging radiometer is now operational as the first sensor on the U.S. Air Force 3.67-meter Advanced Electro Optical System (AEOS) telescope at the Maui Space Surveillance Site on Mt. Haleakala. The four AEOS Radiometer System (ARS) channels cover the visibleear infrared, MWIR (2.0 - 5.5 $mu@m), LWIR (7.9 - 13.2 $mu@m), and VLWIR (16.2 - 23 $mu@m). The bands are separated by dichroic mirrors that direct the visible channel into a cooled enclosure and the infrared channels into a common cryogenic Dewar. Interference filters separate each band into multiple subbands. A novel background suppression technique uses array data and a circular scan generated by the telescope secondary. The ARS design meets challenges in volume constraint on the trunnion, a low vibration cryogenic system, thermal dissipation control, internal calibration, remotely operating four integrated focal plane arrays, high frame rates with their attendant large data handling and processing requirements, and integration into an observatory wide control system. This paper describes the design, integration, and first light test results of the ARS at the AEOS facility.!0