SIM system testbed: 3-baseline stellar interferometer on a 9-meter-long flexible structure

The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) System Testbed-3 has been integrated in JPL's new Optical & Interferometry Development Laboratory. The testbed consists of a three baseline stellar interferometer whose optical layout is functionally equal to SIM's current flight layout. The main testbed objective is to demonstrate nanometer class stability of fringes in the dim star, or science, interferometer while using path length & angle feed-forward control, and while the instrument is integrated atop a flight-like flexible structure. This work marks the first time an astrometric 3-baseline interferometer is tested in air and on a flight-like structure rather than on rigid optical tables. This paper discusses the system architecture, dim star fringe tracking, and the testbed's latest experimental results.

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