An imaging interferometer for compact sources

This paper presents the results of a study designed to test the feasibility of imaging satellites in geostationary orbit from the ground. We argue that the instrument should be an interferometer consisting of > 30 telescopes mounted on a common, steerable boom. Light from the telescopes is fed to the beam combiner with optical fibers. The delays are equalized by steering the boom and stretching the fibers. The feed system and delay lines are replaced with single mode fibers. This system should be better throughput than the optical interferometers in use today and should be able to reach the sensitivity needed to image these targets with meter-scale telescopes. Calculations supporting this claim and a system design are presented.