INTEGRATED COMPUTER-AIDED OPTICAL INSTRUMENT DESIGN

RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPING A COMPUTER-AIDED SPACECRAFT INSTRUMENT DESIGN METHODOLOGY IS HEREIN PROPOSED IN RESPONSETO NASA'S NEED FOR A LOW COST TOOL TO CONDUCT SPACECRAFT INSTRUMENT DESIGN SENSITIVITY ANALYSES AND PERFORMANCE TRADE-OFF STUDIES. A COMPLETELY INTEGRATED APPROACH ENCOMPASSING OPTICS, MECHANICS AND ELECTRONICS IS PRESENTED.THE EMPHASIS, OF COURSE, IS ON OPTICS DESIGN WHICH INCLUDES THREE DIMENSIONAL RAY TRACING, ABERRATION CALCULATIONS AND THEIR OPTIMAL CORRECTIONS, IMAGE EVALUATION, DETECTOR INTEGRATION AND INTERFACE TO RADIATION REFLECTANCE MODELS. RUDIMENTARY INTERFACES TO MECHANICAL AND ELECTRONICS CAD SYSTEMS ARE PROPOSED. WITH THIS APPROACH A TEAM OF DESIGNERS AND ANALYSTS CAN WORK IN PARALLEL ON A DESIGN. SENSITIVITY AND TRADE-OFF STUDIES CAN BE PERFORMED WITHOUT GOING THROUGH EXPENSIVE HARDWARE ITERATIONS. A WELL COORDINATED DATA BASE KEEPS TRACK OF SPECIFICATIONS, DESIGN FILES AND FINAL DESIGN PARAMETERS, ALLOWING SIMULTANEOUS PROGRESS IN VARIOUS AREAS OF THE DESIGN, AND SUCH A DATA BASE CAN BE DIRECTLY LINKED TO COMPUTER-AIDED MACHINING, ASSEMBLY AND TESTING OF INSTRUMENTS TO BE PRODUCED.