The upcoming large astronomical telescopes are trending towards the Segmented Primary Mirror due to technological advancements & manufacturing feasibility. We have designed a wide-field optical IR spectroscopic survey telescope that can deliver spectra of several millions of astronomical sources. The baseline design of this telescope is a 6.2 m segmented primary mirror with hexagonal mirror segments of 1.44m size, intersegment Edge sensors, and soft positioning actuators. The telescope is designed to provide a 2.5deg FOV achieved through a system of wide field corrector lenses with a design residual ~0.2". Also, it delivers an f/3.61 beam suitable for directly feeding optical fibres. A mechanical concept of the telescope is designed with a truss-based mirror cell to support the segmented primary mirror and keep the deformation to a minimum. As the primary mirror is segmented, the deformation due to different disturbances like wind, vibration and thermal effects must be corrected to a nanometer accuracy to make it act like a monolithic primary mirror. This is achieved through an active control system using three actuators and six inter-segment edge sensors. A simulation tool, codeSMT, is built based on the state-space model of a soft actuator with Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) capability to incorporate dynamic wind disturbance from the IAO Hanle site and vibration effects. A detailed error multiplier analysis is performed numerically using this tool and is in good agreement with analytical calculations. A parameter sensitivity analysis is performed to fine-tune the primary mirror control system variables. This paper presents the Optical, Mechanical and Active Control system design approach of a 6.2m wide-field telescope currently under conceptual design.
The Prototype Segmented Mirror Telescope is a 1.3 m aperture, seven segment telescope, being developed as a technology demonstrator for India’s large optical-IR telescope project. For this segmented mirror telescope, a Shack Hartmann sensor based alignment device has been designed and developed. The device not only precisely captures the segment misalignment but also measures the segment focus error with an accuracy of a few microns and hence helps in the tip-tilt correction and co-focusing of the mirror segments. The device is designed to work primarily in two different modes: the Shack–Hartmann mode and the imaging mode. After completion of the alignment procedure, the final image quality can be checked in the imaging mode. The device is designed in such a way that it also has a provision to conduct the Keck kind of phasing experiment with one pair of mirror segments. To make the device cost effective, only off-the-shelf components are used. The optical design and opto-mechanical analysis of the device were carried out using Zemax and SolidWorks software. Then, the device was realized and its extensive testing was carried out in the laboratory. Here, we have presented the details of the opto-mechanical design and analysis as well as the preliminary results of performance tests conducted in the laboratory.
The segment support system of any segmented mirror telescope is considered to be one of the most critical subsystem. The segment support not only holds the mirror without altering its figure, but also features mechanism which facilitate active alignment of the segments with the help of three linear actuators. We have designed and a developed a segment support system for a proposed prototype segmented mirror telescope (PSMT). The baseline design of the PSMT segment support comprises of nine point axially supporting whiffletree coupled with a moving frame and a central diaphragm for the radial support. Our design uses large number of flexural components including flex pivots which make it friction-less system, requiring no lubrication. In this paper we present the details of our design as well as results of very extensive finite element analysis carried out to explore effect of variable gravity as well as temperature on the performance of the support system. During the course of telescope movement from zenith to horizon, interplay between axial and radial support system has also been studied in great detail. The modal analysis is also carried out to determine different natural frequencies/modes the support system is subjected. Functional and operational aspect of the segment support is also tested by conducting experiments on one fully realized system. The segment support which is primarily designed for 0.5m size PSMT segment can be easily scaled up to 1 m size segment and hence can be used for any large telescopes aimed to utilize segmented primary mirror.
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