Abstract. An architecture and conceptual design for a robotically assembled, modular space telescope (RAMST) that enables extremely large space telescopes to be conceived is presented. The distinguishing features of the RAMST architecture compared with prior concepts include the use of a modular deployable structure, a general-purpose robot, and advanced metrology, with the option of formation flying. To demonstrate the feasibility of the robotic assembly concept, we present a reference design using the RAMST architecture for a formation flying 100-m telescope that is assembled in Earth orbit and operated at the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 2.
A key challenge for starshades is formation flying. To successfully image exoplanets, the telescope boresight and starshade must be aligned to approximately one meter at separations of tens of thousands of kilometers. This challenge has two parts: first, the relative position of the starshade with respect to the telescope must be sensed; second, sensor measurements must be combined with a control law to keep the two spacecraft aligned in the presence of gravitational and other disturbances. In this work, we present an optical sensing approach using a pupil imaging camera in a 2.4-meter telescope that can measure the relative spacecraft bearing to a few centimeters in one second, much faster than any relevant dynamical disturbances. A companion paper will describe how this sensor can be combined with a control law to keep the two spacecraft aligned with minimal interruptions to science observations.
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