Spherical primary optical telescope (SPOT) segments

Christopher Hall; John Hagopian; Michael DeMarco

doi:10.1117/12.926479

21 September 2012 Spherical primary optical telescope (SPOT) segments

Christopher Hall, John Hagopian, Michael DeMarco

Proceedings Volume 8442, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 844222 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926479
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

The spherical primary optical telescope (SPOT) project is an internal research and development program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The goals of the program are to develop a robust and cost effective way to manufacture spherical mirror segments and demonstrate a new wavefront sensing approach for continuous phasing across the segmented primary. This paper focuses on the fabrication of the mirror segments. Significant cost savings were achieved through the design, since it allowed the mirror segments to be cast rather than machined from a glass blank. Casting was followed by conventional figuring at Goddard Space Flight Center. After polishing, the mirror segments were mounted to their composite assemblies. QED Technologies used magnetorheological finishing (MRF®) for the final figuring. The MRF process polished the mirrors while they were mounted to their composite assemblies. Each assembly included several magnetic invar plugs that extended to within an inch of the face of the mirror. As part of this project, the interaction between the MRF magnetic field and invar plugs was evaluated. By properly selecting the polishing conditions, MRF was able to significantly improve the figure of the mounted segments. The final MRF figuring demonstrates that mirrors, in the mounted configuration, can be polished and tested to specification. There are significant process capability advantes due to polishing and testing the optics in their final, end-use assembled state.

Citation Download Citation

Christopher Hall, John Hagopian, and Michael DeMarco "Spherical primary optical telescope (SPOT) segments", Proc. SPIE 8442, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 844222 (21 September 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.926479

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KEYWORDS

Mirrors

Magnetorheological finishing

Polishing

Magnetism

Spherical lenses

Composites

Optical telescopes

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