Spacecraft images obtained with a telescope at the Altai Optical Laser Center using adaptive optics

We present the results of experiments in which low-orbit spacecraft were observed from the Earth’s surface by the 600-mm optical telescope of the Altai Optical Laser Center. Thanks to the use of an adaptive optical unit, the angular resolution of images obtained is limited only by diffraction on the collective aperture of the telescope, and this angular resolution is better than that determined in a turbulent atmosphere without adaptive optics by a factor of 5 to 10.