The LISA Pathfinder interferometry—hardware and system testing

H Audley ,José Antonio Pérez ,M Freschi ,L Ferraioli ,Xavier Llamas ,I Mateos ,D Shaul ,William J Weber ,A F García Marín ,I Lloro ,F Guzmán ,Jose Sanjuán ,José F G Mendes ,Fabrizio De Marchi ,H Rozemeijer ,G D Racca ,A Perreca ,G Auger ,J Hough ,H Ward ,D Texier ,M Hueller ,P W Mcnamara ,S Vitale ,D Bortoluzzi ,M Hewitson ,Domenico Giardini ,C J Killow ,E Mitchell ,L Stagnaro ,Marc Díaz-Aguiló ,A Cavalleri ,C García Marirrodriga ,A Conchillo ,J Ramos‐Castro ,M Nofrarias ,Gerald Hechenblaikner ,Ulrich Johann ,S Strandmoe ,J Huesler ,D Hoyland ,Jorge Fauste ,G Congedo ,Domenico Gerardi ,I Diepholz ,S Waschke ,A Taylor ,M Cruise ,R Maarschalkerweerd ,Daniele Nicolodi ,F Antonucci ,B Raïs ,Frank Steier ,Gudrun Wanner ,O Jennrich ,D Mance ,M Cesa ,L Gesa ,M Armano ,M Caleno ,Paolo Bosetti ,Davide Nicolini ,R Dolesi ,Gerhard Heinzel ,M Benedetti ,I Cristofolini ,Vinzenz Wand ,P Prat ,Walter Fichter ,J Reiche ,P Binétruy ,T J Sumner ,C Boatella ,M Chmeissani ,A Monsky ,C Grimani ,G J Dixon ,Olivier Jeannin ,K Danzmann ,Philippe Jetzer ,D Tombolato ,G Ciani ,E Plagnol ,B Johlander ,Peter Wass ,R Gerndt ,Alberto Lobo ,A Grynagier ,Finn Pedersen ,J Bogenstahl ,E Fitzsimons ,D Fertin ,F Gibert ,S Madden ,D I Robertson ,D Hollington ,C Trenkel ,Peter Luetzow-Wentzky ,M Schulte ,I Harrison ,M Perreur-Lloyd ,Bernard Guillaume ,Peter Zweifel

doi:10.1088/0264-9381/28/9/094003

H Audley , José Antonio Pérez + Show 101 more

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https://doi.org/10.1088/0264-9381/28/9/094003

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Abstract

Preparations for the LISA Pathfinder mission have reached an exciting stage. Tests of the engineering model (EM) of the optical metrology system have recently been completed at the Albert Einstein Institute, Hannover, and flight model tests are now underway. Significantly, they represent the first complete integration and testing of the space-qualified hardware and are the first tests on an optical system level. The results and test procedures of these campaigns will be utilized directly in the ground-based flight hardware tests, and subsequently during in-flight operations. In addition, they allow valuable testing of the data analysis methods using the MATLAB-based LTP data analysis toolbox. This paper presents an overview of the results from the EM test campaign that was successfully completed in December 2009.

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