This complex of facilities can be used for optical, thermal vacuum, environmental and mechanical testing, for making fine adjustments, optimizing and calibrating large-aperture lenses with an entrance pupil of up to 1500 mm.

• Assembly and alignment of high-resolution lenses in the visible and mid-IR spectral regions;
• Simulation of object-background conditions with the aid of the Earth and solar simulators of optical radiation, simulation of the objects being observed etc.;
• Simulation of thermal fields in the range from 330 to 20 K in vacuum chambers with volumes of 1 to 150 m³ and pressures as low as 10^-7 torr to investigate the complex effect of thermal fields in the vacuum environment;
• Energy calibration of the space-based instrumentation, including instrumentation cooled to helium temperatures;
• Simulation and reproduction of impact and vibration loads (in a wide frequency and load band) on optoelectronic devices, arising in shipment and in flight;
• Accelerated environmental tests, including exposure to heat and cold, to humidity and to salty fogs, to drops in pressure and solar radiation;
• Simulation of optoelectronic devices under high background light levels;
• The complex influence of outer space upon the elements and materials of optoelectronic devices, namely: hard vacuum, VUV and UV radiation, micrometeorites and fine particles.

The facilities intended for testing of the space-based optoelectronic devices include simulators (and real blocks when possible ) of the telemetry channels and communication lines, instrumentation for display of information, computing systems, as well as software. The unique test-facilities make it possible to study the full characteristics of devices under conditions close to the real intended environment.

Such a combined and well thought-out testing cycle has been found to be necessary to ensure that large optoelectronic devices meet their performance requirements.

In Sosnovy Bor several generations of optical and optoelectronic devices have been built which have successfully been launched in space. Among those are the photographic systems and thermal direction-finding instrumentation, which are now regularly used operationally in space missions .