Research on Stray-Light Suppression Method for Large Off-Axis Three-Mirror Anastigmatic Space Camera

The stray-light suppression of a large off-axis three-mirror anastigmatic space camera has been a hot topic, and this study proposes a composite stray-light suppression strategy that effectively suppresses stray light using the combination of a baffle, retaining ring, and internal antistray light measures. Additionally, the light barrier of the third mirror with a three-layered structure was designed to further optimize the composite stray-light suppression system. At the stray-light simulation analysis stage, in view of the limitations of the Torrance–Sparrow scattering analysis model, an analysis model with wide adaptability is proposed, which can be applied to the stray-light simulation analysis of large-size mirrors with rough surfaces. The simulation results indicate that the point source transmittance of the composite stray-light suppression strategy proposed in this paper is of the order of 10(−5) before installing the light barrier of the third mirror, and the veiling glare index of the full field of view is less than 5.8%. After installing the light barrier of the third mirror, the point source transmittance reached the order of 10(−8), and the veiling glare index of the full field of view was less than 1.31%. Moreover, the influence of the light barrier of the third mirror on the modulation transfer function of the system was less than 2.3%. The modulation transfer function test of the large-width off-axis three-mirror anastigmatic space camera in a simulated vacuum on-orbit environment was completed, and the test results indicated that the negative impact of the light barrier of the third mirror on the modulation transfer function was less than 3.6%. Moreover, an out-of-field imaging test of the space camera was conducted and the results showed that the image was clear, and the SNR reached 80 dB. The simulation and experimental results prove that the solution in this study can effectively solve the problem of stray-light suppression for large off-axis three-mirror anastigmatic space cameras.