A Study of the Conservatism of Resonant Shock Test Fixtures

Portions of a series of end-of-life tests are described for a Sandia National Li~boratories- designed space-based sensor that utilizes a mercury-cadmium-telluride focal plane array. Variations in background intensity are consistent with the hypothesis that seasonal variations in solar position cause changes in the pattern of shadows falling across the compartment containing the optical elements, filter-band components, and focal plane array. When the sensor compartment is most fully illuminated by the sun, background intensities are large and their standard deviations tend to be large. During the winter season, when the compartment is most fully shadowed by surrounding structure, backgrounci intensities are small and standard deviations tend to be small. Details in the surrounding structure are speculated to produce transient shadows that complicate background intensifies as a function of time or of sensor position in orbit. KEYwoRDs Noise measurements, background intensity, focal plane array, mercury-cadmium-telluride