Open AccessDesign, fabrication and space suitability tests of wide field of view, ultra-compact, and high resolution telescope for space application
Author(s) -
M. Tumarina,
M Ryazanskiy,
S. Jeong,
Gwan Ui Hong,
N. Vedenkin,
I H Park,
A Milov
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.26.002390
Subject(s) - optics , optical transfer function , telescope , catadioptric system , aperture (computer memory) , physics , lens (geology) , reflecting telescope , primary mirror , optical telescope , secondary mirror , focal length , spacecraft , spitzer space telescope , cassegrain reflector , field of view , nyquist frequency , computer science , astronomy , telecommunications , acoustics , bandwidth (computing)
We report on the design, manufacture, and testing of an ultra-compact telescope for 16 unit (16U) CubeSats for Earth and space observation. This telescope provides 1 arcsec resolution at a 2.9 degree field of view. Dimensions are optimized to 230 × 230 × 330mm 3 with a mass of less than 6kg including support structure. Our catadioptric 5-element design consists of a full-aperture corrector, a Mangin primary mirror (PM), a secondary mirror (SM), and a 2-lens field corrector. The focal length is 745mm, and squared-circular aperture has an equivalent diameter of 241mm. The designed modulation transfer function (MTF) is 0.275 for the entire unit including baffles at a Nyquist frequency of 161 cycles/mm for the 450-800nm band. As one of the distinguishing features of our state-of-the-art design, all optical surfaces are spherical to simplify adjustment. For the best thermal stability, all optical elements are produced from fused silica. We describe the details of design, adjustment, and laboratory performance tests for space environments in accordance with the requirements for in-orbit operation onboard Earth-observation micro-satellites to be launched in 2018.