Dimensional Stability Testing on a Space Optical Bench Structure

Edeson, Ruben; Morris, Nigel; Tatnall, A.R.L.; Aglietti, Guglielmo S.

doi:10.2514/1.38228

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Random vibration is a large contributor to optical bench instability in spacecraft, 61 making the sounding rocket launch environment the most likely cause of a few micron displacement. This suggests improved mount designs, or additional active correction stages, are required for future missions with micron-scale alignment tolerances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the DM mount temperature was stable to approximately 0.3 • C in flight 34 and prior laboratory tests found the VNC path length has an approximately 700 nm/ • C dependency, 31 well within the range of the N-PZT to correct. Random vibration is a large contributor to optical bench instability in spacecraft, 39 making the sounding rocket launch environment the most likely cause of a few micron displacement. This suggests improved mount designs, or additional active correction stages, are required for future missions with micron-scale alignment tolerances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Wavefront sensing in space: flight demonstration II of the PICTURE sounding rocket payload

Douglas

Mendillo

Cook

et al. 2018

J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst.

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A NASA sounding rocket for high-contrast imaging with a visible nulling coronagraph, the Planet Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Rocket Experiment (PICTURE) payload, has made two suborbital attempts to observe the warm dust disk inferred around Epsilon Eridani. The first flight in 2011 demonstrated a 5 milliarcsecond fine pointing system in space. The reduced flight data from the second launch, on 25 November 2015, presented herein, demonstrate active sensing of wavefront phase in space. Despite several anomalies in flight, post-facto reduction phase stepping interferometer data provides insight into the wavefront sensing precision and the system stability for a portion of the pupil. These measurements show the actuation of a 32×32-actuator microelectromechanical system deformable mirror. The wavefront sensor reached a median precision of 1.4 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 0.8 and 12.0 nanometers per pixel. The median system stability, including telescope and coronagraph wavefront errors other than tip, tilt, and piston, was 3.6 nanometers per pixel, with 95% of samples between 1.2 and 23.7 nanometers per pixel.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wavefront sensing in space: flight demonstration II of the PICTURE sounding rocket payload

Douglas

Mendillo

Cook

et al. 2018

J. Astron. Telesc. Instrum. Syst.

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“…As discussed there, this TMA design uses carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) as a structural material. While this material has been used in space applications extensively (see examples in [4]) and accurate tests on the optical stability have been performed ( [5,6]), results found in these studies do not directly translate to the TMA because the properties of CFRP strongly depend on the fabrication process. Furthermore, the effects of potentially nonuniform thermal expansion, which is commonly observed in CFRP, on the alignment of the optics cannot be modeled in a straightforward way.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the GRACE follow-on triple mirror assembly

Fleddermann¹,

Ward²,

Elliot³

et al. 2014

Class. Quantum Grav.

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We report on the successful testing of the GRACE follow-on triple mirror assembly (TMA) prototype. This component serves to route the laser beam in a proposed follow-on mission to the Gravity Recovery and Climate Explorer (GRACE) mission, containing an optical instrument for space-based distance measurement between satellites. As part of this, the TMA has to meet a set of stringent requirements on both the optical and mechanical properties. The purpose of the TMA prototype testing is to establish the feasibility of the design, materials choice and fabrication techniques. Here we report on co-alignment testing of this device to the arc second (5 μrad) level and thermal alignment stability testing to 1 rad K 1 μ − .

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“…For the aluminium samples, the yield criterion was 55 MPa in tension or compression, and was based on a prior static test (discussed in Section 4). For the CFRP sample, the yield criterion was 180 MPa -this was based on results from a breadboard camera structure previously tested by the authors [18]. It was assumed that 3-peak resultants would be sufficient to cause yield.…”

Section: Loadsmentioning

confidence: 99%