Focal plane actuation for the development of a high resolution suborbital telescope
Abstract
We present a hexapod stabilized focal plane as the key instrument for a proposed suborbital balloon mission. Balloon gondolas currently achieve 1-2 arcsecond pointing error, but cannot correct for unavoidable jitter movements (~50μm at 20hz) caused by wind rushing over balloon surfaces, thermal variations, cryocoolers, and reaction wheels. The jitter causes image blur during exposures and is the limiting resolution of the system. To solve this, the hexapod system actuates the focal plane to counteract the jitter through real-time closed loop feedback from star-trackers. Removal of this final jitter term decreases pointing error by an order of magnitude and allows for true diffraction-limited observation. This boost in resolution will allow for Hubble-quality imaging for a fraction of the cost. Tip-tilt pointing systems have been used for these purposes in the past, but require additional optics and introduce multiple reflections. The hexapod system, rather, is compact and can be plugged into the focal point of nearly any configuration. The design also thermally isolates the hexapod from the cryogenic focal plane enabling the use of well-established non-cryogenic hexapod technology. High-resolution time domain multispectral imaging of the gas giant outer planets, especially in the UV range, is of particular interest to the planetary community, and a suborbital telescope with the hexapod stabilization in place would provide a wealth of new data. On an Antarctic ~100-day Long-Duration-Balloon mission the continued high-resolution imaging of gas giant storm systems would provide cloud formation and evolution data second to only a Flagship orbiter.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #227
- Pub Date:
- January 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AAS...22714731D