Magdalena Ridge Observatory interferometer: Imaging the imagers

All of the design work and major construction has been completed for the Magdalena Ridge Observatory interferometer (MROI). The majority of the subsystems are currently (2011) being assembled. When completed, the array will consist of 10 fully transportable 1.4 m telescopes. These will support multiple array configurations, with baselines from 7.8 m to 350 m to give sub-milliarcsecond angular resolution. We assess the potential imaging capability of the MRO interferometer with regard to geosynchronous targets. We conclude that a significant proportion of GEO targets may be accessible and that it may be possible to routinely extract key satellite diagnostics with 7 × 7 pixel imaging. This would distinguish, for example, 70 cm features on a 5-meter satellite, or 30 cm features on a 2-meter satellite.