Abstract: The device for interferometric recombination of electromagnetic beams includes one or more modules each including: at least one splitter assembly (31) incorporating a beam splitter (5) provided with interceptor means positioned to split an incident beam into portions, one of said portions (f1) passing through the splitter via an aperture provided for that purpose and another portion at least being intercepted by a surface prepared either to reflect it in a determined direction or alternatively to absorb it; at least one coupler (42) arranged to recombine the beams that it receives interferometrically, this coupler being obtained by localized splicing of waveguides in accordance with an X or Y structure, each waveguide receiving a beam from a different collector, at least one of the beams corresponding to one of the portions resulting from the splitting effected by a beam splitter.

Abstract: The device for interferometric recombination of electromagnetic beams includes one or more modules each including:

Abstract: Retroreflective target for laser ranging embodying at least one hollow cube corner retroreflector constituted by three reflective surfaces which are substantially planar and perpendicular to each other and intersect at three edges which are substantially orthogonal and converge at an apex (S), the cube corner retroreflector being associated with a geometrical normal at the same angle to each of the edges, the target including a reference point (O) substantially on the normal on the opposite side to the reflective surfaces at a distance e..sqroot.

Abstract: A cube-corner retroreflector for laser telemetry corrects speed aberration .delta. and has three substantially orthogonal mirror surfaces defining three substantially orthogonal edges converging at an apex. Each edge is associated with the surface substantially orthogonal to it. The shape of each surface is at least approximately that of a portion of a cone whose axis is coincident with the associated edge. The generatrices of this portion of a cone have a non-null average generatrix slope relative to a plane perpendicular to the axis of the portion. The average .alpha..sub.0 of the average slopes of the surfaces at least approximately satisfies the equation:.alpha..sub.0 .about.0.2.delta./kwhere k is a predetermined parameter dependent on the number, the geometry and the refractive index or indices or the media constituting the interior volume of the retroreflector.

Abstract: A spacecraft for geodetic applications designed to travel along a trajectory in an orbital plane around a planet, embodying at least one cube corner retroreflector designed to face the planet at least temporarily and having an apex, a normal, and three faces which are substantially orthogonal with respect to one another, to within an arcminute, forming three dihedral angles at substantially equal angular distances from this normal, the effective diameter of this cube corner being at least 3 centimeters, the apex being located, relative to the center of mass of the spacecraft, at a distance whose projection on an imaginary line joining the center of mass to the center of the planet remains at all times at a known value to within variations of less than 5 centimeters.

Abstract: A high speed laser ranging device composed of a transmitter/receiver unit and a target including a retroreflector adapted to receive a laser pulse (Ii) transmitted by the unit and to return it parallel to itself. This transmitter/receiver unit travels, with respect to the target, along a relative path with an overall relative velocity V, and normal to an instantaneous line joining it to the target, with a transverse relative velocity v.sub.t which, on average, is of the order of at least 1 km/sec. The retroreflector has a cube corner shape with three reflecting plane faces, two of which are normal to the third one, and forming between each other a dihedral angle (7.sub.1) referred to as the "corrected dihedral angle", differing from 90.degree. by a deviation value .epsilon. at least equal to one arcsecond.