Dual stage passive vibration isolation for optical interferometer missions

Future space-based optical instruments such as the Space Interferometer Mission have vibration-induced error allocations at the levels of a few nano-meters and milli-arc-seconds. A dual stage passive isolation approach has been proposed using isolation first at the vibration-inducing reaction wheels, and a second isolation layer between the bus portion of the space vehicle (the backpack) and the optical payload. The development of the backpack isolator is described, with unit transmissibility results for individual isolator struts. The dual stage isolation approach is demonstrated on a dynamically feature-rich, 7-meter structural testbed (STB3). A new passive suspension that mitigates ground vibrations above 0.4 Hz has been integrated into the testbed. A series of OPD performance predictions have been made using measured transfer functions. These indicate that the 5-nm dynamic OPD allocation is within reach using the dual isolator approach. Demonstrating these low response levels in a noisy air environment has proven to be difficult. We are sequentially executing a plan to mitigate acoustic transmission between backpack and flight structure, as well as developing techniques to mitigate effects of background acoustic noise.