Optical design of the Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph starlight suppression system

Abstract

A baseline design for NASA's Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph (TPFC) starlight suppression system (SSS) is described. The design is based on a 8x3.5m elliptical aperture telescope leading to terrestrial planet detection at a minimum angle of ~4λ/D. The design accommodates classical Lyot coronagraph as well as shaped pupil approaches and includes separate optical paths for two polarizations each with its own deformable mirror control. Critical design challenges and trades are described.

The Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph dynamics error budget

“…This model is the 'Zernike sensitivity matrix.' The telescope and coronagraph optics are described in separate papers14,15 . Pointing control.…”