ESA Science & Technology - Moving Optical Sub-Assembly

This schematic illustration depicts NGO's optical assembly.

The telescope with optical bench attached is shown in the upper row. The optical bench is orthogonal to the telescope axis with the optical components facing the back of the primary mirror of the telescope. The gravitational reference sensor is attached behind the optical bench to a support ring that also holds the optical bench. A support structure takes the two sub-units (lower row), forming the optical assembly for the Mother spacecraft. The angle between the two telescopes is nominally 60°, but can be varied by ±1.5° using the optical assembly tracking mechanism.