Large Optical Test and Integration Site

The Large Optical Test and Integration Site, or LOTIS, is a facility for testing large optical components under realistic conditions. LOTIS has large, thermally stabilized vacuum chamber, vibration-isolated optical benches, and a large telescope (run backwards as a collimator) to create images for the test optics to view. It can generate images from the visible through the mid-wavelength IR.

The fabrication error in the Hubble Space Telescope main mirror is the classic example that shows the need for such testing. In this case, a test facility such as LOTIS was not easily available, so the completed optics were not tested as a unit, and instead relied on careful testing of the individual components. Unfortunately, due to a mis-assembled null corrector, one of the tests was wrong, and a mis-figured mirror was not discovered until the telescope was placed into service. This is exactly the type of problem that LOTIS can detect, since it is designed to test large optical systems as a unit by creating realistic inputs and operating conditions for them.

References

• Bell}, R.M. and Robins, G.C. and Eugeni, C. and Cuzner, G. and Hutchison, S.B. and Baily, S.H. and Ceurden, B. and Hagen, J. and Kenagy, K. and Martin, H.M. and Tuell, M. and Ward, M. and West, S.C. (July 2008). "LOTIS at completion of Collimator integration". Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Conference Series. Vol. 7017. doi:10.1117/12.791889. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)