LISA Optical Bench Testing

Each LISA satellite carries optical benches, one for each test mass, that measure the distance to the local test mass and to the remote optical bench on the distant satellite. Currently, an elegant bread board of the optical bench is developed for the European Space Agency (ESA) by EADS Astrium, TNO Science and Technology, University of Glasgow and the Albert Einstein Institute. To test the optical bench the two interferometers mentioned above must be completed by an external simulator, the test mass and telescope simulator. We give an overview of the simulator layout and performance predictions.