The calibration facilities provide: Low Energy Plasma (electron and ion) & Optical (wide ranging capability for low temperature optical/radiometric calibration).
The MSSL Optical calibration facility is a newly commissioned system to accomodate larger instruments and payloads.ÌýÌý
The vacuum chamber consists of an outer stainless steel chamber with a thermal shroud mounted inside the chamber. A heating and cooling platen (or cold bench) is mounted within the thermal shroud which extends the thermal range capabilities of the facility.The facility has an extensive array of ports to allow the attachment of calibrated black bodies and optical beam inputs. The chamber specification is listed below.
Specification
Chamber dimensions:Ìý2m diameter by 2.1m long
Cold bench dimensions: 1.2m wide by 2.0m long
Base vacuum pressure:Ìý5 x 10-6Ìý³¾µþ²¹°ù
Temperature range (shroud):Ìý-80oÌý°ä to +100oÌý°ä
Temperature range (cold bench):Ìý-180oÌý°ä to +100oÌý°ä.
Temperature control:Ìý°älosed loop PID control, +0.5oÌý°ä -0.5oÌý°ä.
Temperature measurement:Ìý3 wire 1/10 DIN PT100 sensors, 16 sensors available with the ability to add up to a maximum of 32 additional sensors.
Temperature and pressure logging:Ìý16 channel plus pressure logging, user set logging interval.
Electrical feedthroughs:ÌýVarious D-Sub connectos and high voltage connectors.
Facility Status
Nominal, currently undergoing blank testing for EarthCare MSI radiometric test campaign