Stray light represents a major performance limitation for optical instruments. Analyses are done with ray-tracing software to evaluate the stray light performances of a design and, if necessary, improve it before manufacturing. Accurate simulations, however, require sending a sufficient number of rays. Hence, the process can be very time-consuming. We introduce the concept of stray light entrance pupil (SLEP) and demonstrate how it can be an efficient tool for simulating stray light for point sources. The SLEP defines a pupil over which light entering the optical system generates stray light reaching the detector. When that pupil is smaller than the first lens of the system, rays can be sent only through that pupil instead of the full lens aperture. Therefore, the time required to perform the simulation is reduced. Moreover, the efficiency can be further improved by defining a source with nonuniform ray density. The SLEP method is demonstrated on a wide-angle Earth observation camera and a time reduction up to about 20 is obtained. The SLEP concept can also be used to facilitate experimental characterization.

PROBA-V has been successfully launched on 7^th May 2013 and is providing a global monitoring in the continuity of the SPOT-VEGETATION mission. The progress in terms of ground resolution between Spot VGT and PROBA-V is a factor 3 (1 km to 1/3 km ground resolution product).

The ICON mission is led by the University of California-Berkeley (Space Sciences Laboratory). In the frame of this mission the Space Center of Liege was involved in the optical design optimization and related analysis, and VUV on ground calibration.

The special properties of Volume Bragg Gratings (VBGs) make them good candidates for spectrometry applications where high spectral resolution, low level of straylight and low polarisation sensitivity are required. Therefore it is of interest to assess the maturity and suitability of VBGs as enabling technology for future ESA missions with demanding requirements for spectrometry. The VBGs suitability for space application is being investigated in the frame of a project led by CSL and funded by the European Space Agency. The goal of this work is twofold: first the theoretical advantages and drawbacks of VBGs with respect to other technologies with identical functionalities are assessed, and second the performances of VBG samples in a representative space environment are experimentally evaluated. The performances of samples of two VBGs technologies, the Photo-Thermo-Refractive (PTR) glass and the DiChromated Gelatine (DCG), are assessed and compared in the Ha, O₂-B and NIR bands. The tests are performed under vacuum condition combined with temperature cycling in the range of 200 K to 300K. A dedicated test bench experiment is designed to evaluate the impact of temperature on the spectral efficiency and to determine the optical wavefront error of the diffracted beam. Furthermore the diffraction efficiency degradation under gamma irradiation is assessed. Finally the straylight, the diffraction efficiency under conical incidence and the polarisation sensitivity is evaluated.

The optical calibration of the ICON-FUV instrument requires designing specific ground support equipment (GSE). The ICON-FUV instrument is a spectrographic imager that operates on two specific wavelengths in the UV (135.6 nm and 157 nm). All the operations have to be performed under vacuum UV light. The optical setup is based on a VUV monochromator coupled with a collimator that illuminates the FUV entrance slit. The instrument is placed on a manipulator providing fields pointing. Image quality and spectral properties can be then characterized for each field. OGSE, MGSE, optical calibration plan and vacuum alignment of the instrument are described.

ICON FUV is a two channel spectrographic imager that measures intensity and spatial distribution of oxygen (135.6 nm) and molecular nitrogen (157 nm) of the ionosphere. As those wavelengths are strongly absorbed by the atmosphere, the optical elements of the system have to be tested inside vacuum chambers. Prior to the instrument alignment and calibration, two 3600 gr/mm gratings were characterized. The primary focus is the measurement of the diffraction efficiencies; while the second objective is to select the best grating and to define which is the flight and the spare. A dedicated setup has been developed to assess the grating optical performances under vacuum. A 1 cm diameter collimated beam is generated using an off-axis parabola and a UV source at its focal point. The grating is placed at the center of two rotation stages collinearly aligned. One detector is placed on a rotating arm, deported from its rotation center. A PMT detector records diffracted light intensity with respect to its angular position and its wavelength. Angular incidence on the grating is tuned with the help of the second rotation stage. The grating efficiency homogeneity and scattering properties are measured through a Y-X scan.

TMA, or three mirror anastigmats, have already been used successfully for various space missions. In the frame of earth observation, ProbaV satellite uses 3 TMAs to cover a total 102.4° field-of-view; ground sampling distance is about 100m at the center of field-of view and 370m at the edge. For future earth observation missions, the goal would be to reach 100m spatial resolution all over the 102.4° FOV. This would require to up-scale optical specifications, thus increasing geometrical aberrations. FMA, or four mirror anastigmats, could thus be a good candidate for future missions, as a fourth mirror would allow better correction of optical aberrations. In this work, TMA and FMA have been optimized over different fields-of view. Performance limitations are then derived, which show that FMA seems promising for future missions. Radiometry aspects are discussed and preliminary tolerance analysis is carried out.

The special properties of volume phase holographic gratings make them promising candidates for spectrometry applications where high spectral resolution, low levels of straylight, and low polarization sensitivity are required. Therefore it is of interest to assess the maturity and suitability of volume phase holographic gratings as enabling technologies for future space missions, with demanding requirements for spectrometry. One of the main areas of research is related to grating ageing under space radiation. In the present paper, two volume grating technologies are analyzed and compared under gamma irradiation. The performances of both technologies, the photo-thermo-refractive glass and the Dichromated Gelatin, are tested on samples and assessed in the Ha and near-infrared bands. The diffraction efficiency degradation under gamma irradiation is assessed.

A model is valid only if it represents the actual world. This paper presents several applications developed at CSL to improve or confirm multiphysic modeling, the difficulties of which being the coupling between several physical parameters, mechanics, thermals, optics⋯ The objectives of these applications are to improve, develop analytical modeling guidelines and confirm the models. Generally, the validation processes are carried out on simple test cases. The paper will demonstrate that simple test cases are not necessarily easy to measure, and that correlation with the model is not straightforward. Typical study cases presented are: - Heating of a spherical lens fixed in an aluminium barrel, with the presence of temperature gradients impacting the geometrical deformation of the lens and leading to refractive index gradients. - Samples with glued and bolted connections/junctions that can be encountered in stable structures on spacecraft (Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Titanium (TA6V)). These are measured by a holographic method. - The third system is a YAG laser bar heated by means of a dedicated oven. In the first test bench, the impact of thermo-elastic distortions on the optical performances has been measured using a Fizeau interferometer and compared to OOFELIE::Multiphysics' simulation results. The correlation between experimental and numerical data is discussed. For the second the thermo-mechanical correlations are performed, while for the last test bench preliminary testing results are presented.

The objective of this work is to demonstrate the correlation between a simple laboratory test bench case and the predictions of the OOFELIE Multiphysics software in order to deduce modeling guidelines and improvements. For that purpose two optical systems have been analyzed. The first one is a spherical lens fixed in an aluminium barrel, which is the simplest structure found in an opto-mechanical system. In this study, material characteristics are assumed to be well known: BK7 and aluminium have been retained. Temperature variations between 0 and +60°C from ambient have been applied to the samples. The second system is a YAG laser bar heated by means of a dedicated oven. For the two test benches thermo-elastic distortions have been measured using a Fizeau interferometer. This sensor measures wavefront error in the range of 20 nm to 1 μm without physical contact with the opto-mechanical system. For the YAG bar, birefringence and polarization measurements have also been performed using a polarimetric bench. The tests results have been compared to the predictions obtained by OOFELIE Multiphysics which is a simulation software dedicated to multiphysics coupled problems involving optics, mechanics, thermal physics, electricity, electromagnetism, acoustics and hydrodynamics. From this comparison modeling guidelines have been issued with the aim of improving the accuracy of computed thermo-elastic distortions and their impact on the optical performances.