The design of the baffling system of the Halley multicolour camera

As far as the performance of the optical systems and the quality of the detectors improves, the attention which designers must pay to the noise sources is becoming more and more important. In this field very often the main problem is the suppression of the unwanted scattered radiation (the so cailed stray-light), which can be achieved by means of an appropriate optical design, and by resorting to a suitable shading device (baffling system) in front of the optical system. In this study, a design procedure based on general guidelines and on their verification by using detailed radiometry computer programs, will be applied for the Halley Multicolour Camera, carried on board by the Giotto Spacecreft. The characteristics of the Giotto Mission and the general layout of the spacecraft used for the planned Halley Comet encounter are reported in [1]. Halley Multicolour Camera (HMC) was one of the instruments used for studying the comet and its environment from close viewpoints. The required high quality level of the pictures to be taken during the last mission phases, made the straylight suppression a major problem