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The 10V Chamber Test Facility at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) is being upgraded to provide a closed-loop capability to assess multi-band electro-optical sensor performance under realistic operational scenarios against evolving threats. This test facility will leverage existing facilities and expertise from several Government agencies including AEDC, Army/AMCOM, and USAF/KHILS to investigate performance issues during ground testing at cryogenic conditions. Radiometrically accurate simulated scenes will be presented to the test article using dual-band infrared point sources, a dual-band infrared emitter array projector, and a visible array projector. Various optical assemblies will be required to project the images from these radiometric source systems onto the sensor aperture.
The infrared point sources will be positioned in the XY plane using two-stage linear translators, which must meet stringent spatial coverage and position accuracy requirements to create realistic closed-loop target motion. A large two-axis steering mirror will simulate sensor line of sight movements for the blackbody sources. A high-speed jitter mirror will simulate high frequency image motion for the emitter arrays. These mirror systems must be vibrationally isolated to minimize the jitter induced in other optical elements.
Narcissus and ghost image effects will be minimized using appropriate fabrication, shielding, and calibration techniques. A multi-spectral calibration and alignment system will be integrated into the facility to ensure proper radiometric and goniometric operation of the various target sources.
The target and optical systems must all meet performance specifications at cryo-vacuum conditions. Code V will be the primary tool used to evaluate wave front error and distortion coating performance for ghosting/polarization/transmission effects, optical manufacturing errors, and energy-on-detector (EOD). Finite element models of the facility will be used to analyze the structural rigidity and dynamics of the components due to the cryogenic environment.
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