6U CubeSat deployable telescope for optical Earth observation and astronomical optical imaging

Noah Schwartz; William Brzozowski; Zeshan Ali; Maria Milanova; Katherine Morris; Charlotte Bond; Jennifer Keogh; Douglas Harvey; Lawrence Bissell; Jean-François Sauvage; Maxime Dumont; Carlos Correia; Phil Rees; Heather Bruce

doi:10.1117/12.2627248

27 August 2022 6U CubeSat deployable telescope for optical Earth observation and astronomical optical imaging

Noah Schwartz, William Brzozowski, Zeshan Ali, Maria Milanova, Katherine Morris, Charlotte Bond, Jennifer Keogh, Douglas Harvey, Lawrence Bissell, Jean-François Sauvage, Maxime Dumont, Carlos Correia, Phil Rees, Heather Bruce

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 1218031 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627248
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Conference Poster

Abstract

Available volumes of nanosats such as CubeSats impose physical limits to the telescope diameter, limiting achievable spatial resolution and photometric capability. For example, a 12U CubeSat typically only has sufficient volume to host a 20 cm diameter monolithic telescope. In this paper, we present recent advances in deployable optics to host a 30 cm+ diameter telescope in a 6U CubeSat, with a volume of 4U dedicated to the payload and 2U to the satellite bus. To reach this high level of compactness, we fold the primary and secondary mirrors for launch, which are then unfolded and aligned in space. Diffraction-limited imaging quality in the visible part of the spectrum is achieved by controlling each mirror segment in piston, tip, and tilt. In this paper, we first describe overall satellite concept, we then report on the optomechanical design of the payload to deploy and adjust the mirrors. Finally, we discuss the automatic phasing of the primary to control the final optical quality of the telescope.

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Noah Schwartz, William Brzozowski, Zeshan Ali, Maria Milanova, Katherine Morris, Charlotte Bond, Jennifer Keogh, Douglas Harvey, Lawrence Bissell, Jean-François Sauvage, Maxime Dumont, Carlos Correia, Phil Rees, and Heather Bruce "6U CubeSat deployable telescope for optical Earth observation and astronomical optical imaging", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 1218031 (27 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627248

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