Ultra-lightweight ultra-stable RoboSiC additively manufactured lasercom telescope

William A. Goodman; Mehrdad N. Ghasemi Nejhad; Brenden M. Minei; John N. Stuecker; Tristin M. Anderson

doi:10.1117/12.2530244

30 August 2019 Ultra-lightweight ultra-stable RoboSiC additively manufactured lasercom telescope

William A. Goodman, Mehrdad N. Ghasemi Nejhad, Brenden M. Minei, John N. Stuecker, Tristin M. Anderson

Proceedings Volume 11101, Material Technologies and Applications to Optics, Structures, Components, and Sub-Systems IV; 111010F (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2530244
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2019, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Of interest to Jet Propulsion Laboratory and multiple NASA cost centers are laser communications telescopes (LCTs) with 30 to 100 cm clear aperture, wavefront error (WFE) less than 62 nm, cumulative WFE and transmission loss not to exceed 3-dB in the far field, advanced thermal and stray light design for operation while sun-pointing (3-degrees from the edge of the sun); -20° C to 50° C operational range (wider range preferred), and areal density <65kg/m². Telescope dimensional stability, low scatter, extreme lightweighting, and precision structures are a common theme across the NASA 2017 Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) and Cosmic Origins (COR) Program Annual Technology Reports. Multiple Priority Tier 1-4 technology gaps can be found, and the higher priorities require a solution in time for the next Decadal Survey. A common solution of interest that has been cited is silicon carbide and 3D printing or additive manufacturing. RoboSiC™ technologies provide both. Under NASA SBIR I Contract #80NSSC18P1995 the Goodman Technologies (GT) team performed feasibility demonstrations of 3D printed and additively manufactured off-axis RoboSiC™ mirror substrates and coarse and fine threaded RoboSiC™ bolts. RoboSiC-S provides the degree of passive athermality required for the LCT optical pathlength and wavefront error stability, concomitant with low areal density mirrors (7.75-10 kg/m²) and structures (4-5 kg/m²), and a theoretical first unit cost for an LCT with a fast steering mirror is $1.5M, a factor of 3-4 less than current LCTs. Team GT will further explore a preliminary Gregorian LCT on NASA SBIR II Contract #80NSSC19C0138.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

William A. Goodman, Mehrdad N. Ghasemi Nejhad, Brenden M. Minei, John N. Stuecker, and Tristin M. Anderson "Ultra-lightweight ultra-stable RoboSiC additively manufactured lasercom telescope", Proc. SPIE 11101, Material Technologies and Applications to Optics, Structures, Components, and Sub-Systems IV, 111010F (30 August 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2530244

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