Relocatable array interferometer: imaging of laser-illuminated space targets

Victor L. Gamiz; Don M. Payne; Raymond C. Dymale; Gault S. Bowen; David Stone

doi:10.1117/12.217379

23 August 1995 Relocatable array interferometer: imaging of laser-illuminated space targets

Victor L. Gamiz, Don M. Payne, Raymond C. Dymale, Gault S. Bowen, David Stone

Proceedings Volume 2566, Advanced Imaging Technologies and Commercial Applications; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.217379
Event: SPIE's 1995 International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1995, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The application of stellar interferometry to the observation of laser illuminated artificial satellites is investigated for a relocatable imaging system. Because of the satellite surface roughness, the light scattered from the surface can be considered spatially incoherent, creating laser speckle at the pupil of the array. The speckle noise is manifested in loss of fringe constrast because of the intensity distribution of speckle is predominately dark for aperture areas small compared to the characteristic speckle dimension. Speckle mitigation by use of aperture diameters larger that the speckle size result, on average, in fringe visibility errors because each aperture resolves the satellite. We quantify these effects in terms of incoherent imaging theory and discuss situations where speckle can be mitigated by the motion of the satellite. A conceptual design of a relocatable interferometer is shown with results of simulations which exclude the effects of the atmosphere.

Citation Download Citation

Victor L. Gamiz, Don M. Payne, Raymond C. Dymale, Gault S. Bowen, and David Stone "Relocatable array interferometer: imaging of laser-illuminated space targets", Proc. SPIE 2566, Advanced Imaging Technologies and Commercial Applications, (23 August 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.217379

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