Recent discoveries in geospace science have necessitated the design of compact UV imaging instruments to make space-based observations from multiple vantage points. The miniaturized ultraviolet imager (MUVI) instrument from the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at UC Berkeley is under development to facilitate such discoveries on a wider scale. This thesis documents the design, integration, and characterization of a vacuum compatible manipulator to calibrate the MUVI instrument inside the UV thermal vacuum chamber at SSL. Precision linear and rotation stages were implemented with custom mounting plates to achieve four degrees of freedom. Optical components were installed to imitate the MUVI instrument for testing purposes. A customized PCB was fabricated to control the stages and receive position feedback data. A Graphical User Interface was programmed and utilized to position the manipulator during experimental validation. Field of View sweeps were conducted using visible light and a monochromatic CMOS sensor to track the coordinates of a laser's centroid. An analytical model of the optics assembly was developed and later refined from the experimental results. Using this model, the translation stages successfully compensated for optical misalignments. Analysis of the performance data showed the pointing resolution of the manipulator was less than 1 arcmin, which satisfied the calibration requirement for the MUVI imager.
","abstract_html":"<p>Recent discoveries in geospace science have necessitated the design of compact UV imaging instruments to make space-based observations from multiple vantage points. The miniaturized ultraviolet imager (MUVI) instrument from the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at UC Berkeley is under development to facilitate such discoveries on a wider scale. This thesis documents the design, integration, and characterization of a vacuum compatible manipulator to calibrate the MUVI instrument inside the UV thermal vacuum chamber at SSL. Precision linear and rotation stages were implemented with custom mounting plates to achieve four degrees of freedom. Optical components were installed to imitate the MUVI instrument for testing purposes. A customized PCB was fabricated to control the stages and receive position feedback data. A Graphical User Interface was programmed and utilized to position the manipulator during experimental validation. Field of View sweeps were conducted using visible light and a monochromatic CMOS sensor to track the coordinates of a laser's centroid. An analytical model of the optics assembly was developed and later refined from the experimental results. Using this model, the translation stages successfully compensated for optical misalignments. Analysis of the performance data showed the pointing resolution of the manipulator was less than 1 arcmin, which satisfied the calibration requirement for the MUVI imager.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Grillo, Jason L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS in Mechanical Engineering","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Eltahry Elghandour","Mechanical Engineering","College of Engineering"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:13Z","subjects":["ultraviolet","imager","space","vacuum","manipulator","Electro-Mechanical Systems"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["10.15368/theses.2020.5"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.15368/theses.2020.5","href":"https://doi.org/10.15368/theses.2020.5","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2118","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Eltahry Elghandour","Mechanical Engineering","College of Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Grillo, Jason L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-02-03T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS in Mechanical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ultraviolet","imager","space","vacuum","manipulator","Electro-Mechanical Systems"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2118","10.15368/theses.2020.5"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Recent discoveries in geospace science have necessitated the design of compact UV imaging instruments to make space-based observations from multiple vantage points. The miniaturized ultraviolet imager (MUVI) instrument from the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at UC Berkeley is under development to facilitate such discoveries on a wider scale. This thesis documents the design, integration, and characterization of a vacuum compatible manipulator to calibrate the MUVI instrument inside the UV thermal vacuum chamber at SSL. Precision linear and rotation stages were implemented with custom mounting plates to achieve four degrees of freedom. Optical components were installed to imitate the MUVI instrument for testing purposes. A customized PCB was fabricated to control the stages and receive position feedback data. A Graphical User Interface was programmed and utilized to position the manipulator during experimental validation. Field of View sweeps were conducted using visible light and a monochromatic CMOS sensor to track the coordinates of a laser's centroid. An analytical model of the optics assembly was developed and later refined from the experimental results. Using this model, the translation stages successfully compensated for optical misalignments. Analysis of the performance data showed the pointing resolution of the manipulator was less than 1 arcmin, which satisfied the calibration requirement for the MUVI imager.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Optimum Design of a Vacuum-Compatible Manipulator to Calibrate Space Based Ultraviolet Imagers"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Eltahry Elghandour","Mechanical Engineering","College of Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Grillo, Jason L."],"dc:date.available":["2020-02-03T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Recent discoveries in geospace science have necessitated the design of compact UV imaging instruments to make space-based observations from multiple vantage points. The miniaturized ultraviolet imager (MUVI) instrument from the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at UC Berkeley is under development to facilitate such discoveries on a wider scale. This thesis documents the design, integration, and characterization of a vacuum compatible manipulator to calibrate the MUVI instrument inside the UV thermal vacuum chamber at SSL. Precision linear and rotation stages were implemented with custom mounting plates to achieve four degrees of freedom. Optical components were installed to imitate the MUVI instrument for testing purposes. A customized PCB was fabricated to control the stages and receive position feedback data. A Graphical User Interface was programmed and utilized to position the manipulator during experimental validation. Field of View sweeps were conducted using visible light and a monochromatic CMOS sensor to track the coordinates of a laser's centroid. An analytical model of the optics assembly was developed and later refined from the experimental results. Using this model, the translation stages successfully compensated for optical misalignments. Analysis of the performance data showed the pointing resolution of the manipulator was less than 1 arcmin, which satisfied the calibration requirement for the MUVI imager.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/2118","10.15368/theses.2020.5"],"dc:subject":["ultraviolet","imager","space","vacuum","manipulator","Electro-Mechanical Systems"],"dc:title":["The Optimum Design of a Vacuum-Compatible Manipulator to Calibrate Space Based Ultraviolet Imagers"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS in Mechanical Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:32:13Z"}