Construction of tolerance budgets for lens systems on microsatellites

In designing and building an optical system for use in space, it is essential to have a high degree of confidence that the final instrument will perform within specification. Projects such as lens systems for micro-satellites may have relatively tight schedules for design and construction, and similarly restricted budgets. These factors will not permit the construction of prototype and development models and so the only way to have confidence in the final performance of the system is to construct a thorough tolerance budget at an appropriate level of detail. The system performance has to be assessed for sensitivity to both tolerances relating to manufacture of optical components and tolerances relating to the mechanical mounting methods. Practical considerations and cost then drive how these tolerances are distributed to create a budget that will deliver the specified performance. Testing methods are chosen to confirm that this performance has been achieved.