<title>Mechanical design of GHIS brassboard</title>

Abstract

The GHIS optics assembly was designed as a replacement for the filter wheel assembly in an upgraded GOES Sounder sensor of the year 2000 +. An overview of the entire effort is presented elsewhere in these proceedings. The assembly includes miniature optics consisting of a Michelson interferometer with compatible input and output optics. It is to be aligned at room temperature and operated at -55 degrees C without realignment; therefore, an athermal design approach was chosen. Several aspects of the opto-mechanical design will be discussed herein, namely: the support, attachment, and adjustment of the miniature optics; investigation and fabrication of various types of aluminum mirrors; a remotely adjusted mirror for on-orbit alignment using PZT actuators; a moving-mirror supported on a leaf- spring, flexure mechanism moved by a voice-coil actuator; a laser, reference-beam, optical assembly, with fiber optic input and output, to control the velocity and position of the moving-mirror; the support structure; and the thermal control design.