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NASA NTRS1980

Space Telescope - A versatile new instrument

The design, in-orbit operation and projected performance of the Space Telescope are discussed. The telescope will be in a moderately low earth orbit and communicate with the earth through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite and directly for a few minutes each orbit. The optical system contains a 2.4-m mirror in a standard Cassegrain configuration, with four axial instrument positions and one radial and a fine guidance sensor which will allow the maintenance of telescope pointing during an observation to seven thousandths of an arcsec. The satellite will be launched by the Space Shuttle, and is capable of being serviced in space or recaptured and brought back to earth for more extensive modifications. The telescope employs a fairly standard Ritchey-Chretian optical design with a primary field of view of 18 arcmin and good mirror reflection of wavelengths from 1100 A to 1 mm. Image quality will be very insensitive to wavelength, with image size on the order of 0.04 arcsec. Instruments to be carried on the first launch include a guidance system for astrometry, a wide-field and planetary camera, a faint object camera, a high resolution spectrograph, a faint object spectrograph and a high-speed photometer.

Roman, N.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Key space telescope design considerations

The Space Telescope (ST), a 2.4 meter aperture astronomical telescope, will be launched into low earth orbit by the Space Shuttle in the mid-1980's. This high resolution telescope will be capable of operating from Lyman-alpha (121.6 nm) through the near infrared; support five different scientific instruments at its focal plane (two cameras, two spectrographs, and one photometer); and by periodic on-orbit servicing and ground refurbishment be able to operate with technologically current scientific instruments for at least 15 years. This paper identifies the critical Space Telescope design requirements and describes design techniques which were selected to satisfy these requirements.

Olivier, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Space telescope - Meeting the pointing control challenge with today's technology

The pointing control system of the Space Telescope, which provides target-to-target maneuvering capability and precision pointing on the target star (with 0.007-arcsec stability and 0.01-arcsec accuracy), is described. Spacecraft attitude control is undertaken by onboard computer processing of attitude and rate sensor data that generates reaction wheel torque commands. The Space Telescope Operations Control Center communicates with the Space Telescope via the synchronous altitude tracking and data relay satellite system, and determines vehicle attitude more precisely by means of sun sensors, magnetometers and fixed-head star trackers. Such disturbance torques as those of gravity gradients and aerodynamics act on the Space Telescope, causing the speeds of the four reaction wheels to increase. In order to prevent the wheels from reaching a speed-saturated condition, a momentum control system is provided for the management of reaction wheel speed buildup. Attention is given to development testing and control hardware investigations and improvements.

Dougherty, H.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Feasibility study of an optically coherent telescope array in space

Numerical methods of image construction which can be used to produce very high angular resolution images at optical wavelengths of astronomical objects from an orbiting array of telescopes are discussed and a concept is presented for a phase-coherent optical telescope array which may be deployed by space shuttle in the 1990's. The system would start as a four-element linear array with a 12 m baseline. The initial module is a minimum redundant array with a photon-counting collecting area three times larger than space telescope and a one dimensional resolution of better than 0.01 arc seconds in the visible range. Later additions to the array would build up facility capability. The advantages of a VLBI observatory in space are considered as well as apertures for the telescopes.

Traub, W. A.↗

NASA NTRS1982

High resolution large area modular array of reflectors /LAMAR/ Wolter type I X-ray telescope for Spacelab

The Spacelab Wolter type I X-ray telescope, which is intended for both astronomical observations and the functional verification of the future Large Area Modular Array of Reflectors (LAMAR) concept, comprises five mirrors and is designed to have a blur circle radius of 20 arcsec, with effective areas of (1) 400 sq cm at 0.25 keV, (2) 200 sq cm in the 0.5-2.0 keV range, and (3) 50 sq cm between 2 and 5 keV. A rotary interchange mechanism allows either of two imaging proportional counters to be placed at the telescope focus. The telescope's primary objective is the observational study of galactic and extragalactic X-ray sources, extending the work of the Einstein Observatory to fainter sources and higher energies. Secondarily, the costs and performance to be expected from the use of this telescope type in the LAMAR mission will be assessed.

Catura, R. C.↗

NASA NTRS1983

The IRAS telescope

The IRAS telescope is described in terms of its system configuration and physical characteristics, subsystem functions and descriptions, and performance characteristics. The mission and the configuration are reviewed briefly, and the major functional components of the telescope are described, including the focal plane assembly, the optics, the electronics, the cryogenics, and the thermal control. Exploded and cross-sectional views and block diagrams are presented for the telescope system configuration, focal plane assembly, infrared subarray module, optical subsystem, infrared channel data flow, and main cryogen dewar. The telescope physical characteristics are listed. The performance characteristics are listed and discussed, including the spectral response, sensitivity, optical quality, and photometric accuracy. Relative system spectral response curves for the infrared bands are shown.

Irace, W.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Wide Field and Planetary Camera for Space Telescope

The Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera instrument, presently under construction, will be used to map the observable universe and to study the outer planets. It will be able to see 1000 times farther than any previously employed instrument. The Wide Field system will be located in a radial bay, receiving its signals via a pick-off mirror centered on the optical axis of the telescope assembly. The external thermal radiator employed by the instrument for cooling will be part of the exterior surface of the Space Telescope. In addition to having a larger (1200-12,000 A) wavelength range than any of the other Space Telescope instruments, its data rate, at 1 Mb/sec, exceeds that of the other instruments. Attention is given to the operating modes and projected performance levels of the Wide Field Camera and Planetary Camera.

Lockhart, R. F.↗

NASA NTRS1985

The University of Durham Mark 3 very high energy gamma ray telescope

A new very high energy gamma-ray telescope employing the atmospheric Cerenkov light technique and currently nearing completion is described. The telescope is designed to have capability as both a wide angle instrument (4 degree field of view) for sky survey work and as a narrow field of view instrument (1.35 degrees) for conventional drift-scanning and tracking modes of operation. The telescope consists of two 10 sq. m. mirrors operated in fast coincidence with multiple phototube assemblies at the prime focus of each mirror. The design philosophy of the instrument is discussed and comparisons of its performance with our previous telescopes are made.

Chadwick, P. M.↗

NASA NTRS1985

A bi-directional charged particle telescope to observe flux, energy spectrum and angular distribution of relativistic and non-relativistic particles

A Charged Particle Telescope (CPT) was designed, fabricated and calibrated to make the following observations: (1) discrimination between various singly charged particles, e.g., electrons, muons and protons, in about 5 to 100 MeV energy range; (2) measurement of the flux and the energy of the charged particles incident to the telescope from two opposite directions and stopping in the telescope, thus obtaining flux and energy spectrum of downward and upward moving charged particles; and (3) measurement of the broad angular distribution of selected particles as a function of azimuthal angle. This telescope can be used to study low energy electron, muon and proton energy spectra. The experiment was flown in a high altitude balloon from Hyderabad, India, in December 1984. This same equipment is also useful in ground level electron, muon spectrum study.

Verma, S. D.↗

NASA NTRS1984

A generalized sine condition and performance comparison of Wolter type II and Wolter-Schwarzschild extreme ultraviolet telescopes

An equation similar to the Abbe sine condition is derived for a Wolter type II telescope. This equation and the sine condition are then combined to produce a so called generalized sine condition. Using the law of reflection, Fermat's principle, the generalized sine condition, and simple geometry the surface equations for a Wolter type II telescope and an equivalent Wolter-Schwarzschild telescope are calculated. The performances of the telescopes are compared in terms of rms blur circle radius at the Gaussian focal plane and at best focus.

Saha, T. T.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Test Method for X-Ray Telescopes

Telescopes and X-ray telescopes in particular, tested with nearby point sources of radiation. When point-source rays enter telescope through annular entrance pupil (and under conditions of spherical aberration), ring image produced. Deviation of ring image from perfect circular shape reveals misalinements and surface inaccuracies in telescope. Although particularly suited for grazing-incidence types of systems, this test method applied to other types of optical systems.

Korsch, D.↗

NASA NTRS1985

BASD: SIRTF Telescope Instrument Changeout and Cryogen Replenishment (STICCR) study

The Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) is a long-life cryogenically cooled space-based telescope for infrared astronomy from 2 micrometer to 700 miocrometers currently under study by NASA-ARC, and planned for launch in approximately the mid 90's. SIRTF will operate as a multi-user facility, initially carrying 3 instruments at the focal plane. It will be cooled to below 2 K by superfluid liquid helium to achieve radiometric sensitivity limited only by the statistical fluctuations in the natural infrared background radiation over most of its spectral range. The lifetime of the mission will be limited by the lifetime of the liquid helium supply, and is currently baselined to be 2 years. The telescope changes required to allow in-space replenishment of the 2,000 liter superfluid helium tank are investigated. A preliminary design for the space services equipment is also developed. The impacts of basing the equipment and servicing on the space station are investigated. Space replenishment and changeout of instruments requires changes to the telescope design and preliminary concepts are presented.

Mord, A. J.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Spectral slicing X-ray telescope with variable magnification

A telescope for viewing high frequency radiation (soft X-ray, extreme ultraviolet) is described. This telescope has a long focal length with a selection of magnifications despite a short housing. Light enters the telescope and is reflected by the telescope's primary optical system to one of several secondary mirrors at different locations on a movable frame. The secondary mirrors have varying degrees of magnification and select narrow spectral slices of the incident radiation. Thus, both the magnification and effective focal length field of view and wavelength can be altered by repositioning the moving frame. Configurations for spaceborne applications are discussed.

Hoover, R. B.↗

NASA NTRS1985

An optical technology study on large aperture telescopes

The difficult and crucial problem of selecting a suitable telescope concept for an advanced space observatory was examined. To this end two and four mirror telescopes were analyzed and compared. Both configurations are very practical and structurally similar. Parabolic primary and spherical primary four mirror telescope were compared with respect to their performance and the alignment sensitivities of the three correction mirrors. A 1 meter class afocal telescope system with lag angle compensation, to be used in a LIDAR experiment, was examined.

Korsch, D.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Space telescope

This paper describes the Space Telescope, a program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The Space Telescope is the largest and most powerful optical and ultraviolet astronomical observatory to be operated in space. Through the remote eyes of this telescope, astronomers will look further into space and time to produce data including imagery of unequaled quality of galaxies, star systems, quasars and other objects of scientific interest. The Space Telescope will do this by observing the sky from a nominal 550 kilometer low earth orbit via an optical system with a 2.4 meter diameter primary mirror. Additionally, this observatory has a precision pointing control system that is capable of maintaining a locked state on an object for extended periods accurately to within 0.01 arc seconds. The observatory instrument complement, optical system and pointing control system is presented.

Wojtalik, F. S.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Occultation studies with small telescopes

The data which can be acquired by observing occultations of stars by asteroids, the Pluto-Charon system, and comets using small telescopes are reviewed. A network of small telescopes may be the only possible means of observing a few specific types of occultations. The occultations are usually sufficiently bright so that small aperture telescopes can easily obtain high signal/noise ratios. The techniques and equipment are accessible to both professional, amateur and student astronomers, which is a favorable situation since only a small percentage of the nearly-hourly occurrence of occultations of stars by minor and distant planetary bodies are ever observed. Techniques employed for measuring the dimensions of asteroids by combining chords measured by distributed small telescopes are described and examples are provided of asteroids for which complete or incomplete size/density mappings have been made.

Millis, Robert L.↗

NASA NTRS1986

A parametric study of various synthetic aperture telescope configurations for coherent imaging applications

The comparative advantages of synthetic aperture telescopes (SATs) of segmented primary mirror and common secondary mirror type, on the one hand, and on the other those employing an array of independent telescopes, are discussed. The diffraction-limited optical performance of both redundant and nonredundant subaperture configurations are compared in terms of point spread function characteristics and encircled energy plots. Coherent imaging with afocal telescope SATs involves a pupil-mapping operation followed by a Fourier transform one. A quantitative analysis of the off-axis optical performance degradation due to pupil-mapping errors is presented, together with the field-dependent effects of residual design aberrations of independent telescopes.

Harvey, James E.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Study Of Large Telescopes

Document considers selection of suitable telescope for advanced space laboratory. Analyzes and compares two- and four-mirror telescopes, both practical and structurally similar. Emphasizes analysis of four-mirror telescope systems, since design and performance characteristics of two-mirror telescopes well known. Three-mirror systems not considered.

Korsch, Dietrich↗