A space grade camera for image correlation

Abstract

In this paper we describe the space grade camera we developed for the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) instrument of the Solar Orbiter (SO) mission. The camera, called Correlation Tracking Camera (CTC) will be part of the Image Stabilization System (ISS) used to compensate the spacecraft jitter. Since the ISS works on a correlator basis, the CTC requires a high frame rate while keeping the power consumption as low as possible. The CTC works at a nominal frame rate of 414 fps for 128 pixels square images with a latency below the microsecond. The images have a 10 bit resolution and the tests shows an effective number of bits (ENOB) above 9.3. Also, the full ISS closed-loop has been successfully tested with this camera.