Preliminary analysis of ground-to-flight mechanical tolerances of the Ariel mission telescope

Paolo Chioetto; Andrea Tozzi; Anna Brucalassi; Debora Ferruzzi; Andrew Caldwell; Martin Caldwell; Fausto Cortecchia; Emiliano Diolaiti; Paul Eccleston; Elisa Guerriero; Matteo Lombini; Giuseppe Malaguti; Giuseppina Micela; Emanuele Pace; Enzo Pascale; Raffaele Piazzolla; Giampaolo Preti; Mario Salatti; Giovanna Tinetti; Elisabetta Tommasi; Paola Zuppella

doi:10.1117/12.2628900

27 August 2022 Preliminary analysis of ground-to-flight mechanical tolerances of the Ariel mission telescope

Paolo Chioetto, Andrea Tozzi, Anna Brucalassi, Debora Ferruzzi, Andrew Caldwell, Martin Caldwell, Fausto Cortecchia, Emiliano Diolaiti, Paul Eccleston, Elisa Guerriero, Matteo Lombini, Giuseppe Malaguti, Giuseppina Micela, Emanuele Pace, Enzo Pascale, Raffaele Piazzolla, Giampaolo Preti, Mario Salatti, Giovanna Tinetti, Elisabetta Tommasi, Paola Zuppella

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 121804R (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628900
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Conference Poster

Abstract

Ariel (Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large Survey) is the adopted M4 mission of ESA “Cosmic Vision” program. Its purpose is to conduct a survey of the atmospheres of known exoplanets through transit spectroscopy. Launch is scheduled for 2029. Ariel scientific payload consists of an off-axis, unobscured Cassegrain telescope feeding a set of photometers and spectrometers in the waveband between 0.5 and 7.8 µm, and operating at cryogenic temperatures. The Ariel Telescope consists of a primary parabolic mirror with an elliptical aperture of 1.1 m of major axis, followed by a hyperbolic secondary, a parabolic recollimating tertiary and a flat folding mirror directing the output beam parallel to the optical bench. The secondary mirror is mounted on a roto-translating stage for adjustments during the mission. Proper operation of the instruments prescribes a set of tolerances on the position and orientation of the telescope output beam: this needs to be verified against possible telescope misalignments as part of the ongoing Structural, Thermal, Optical and Performance Analysis. A specific part of this analysis concerns the mechanical misalignments, in terms of rigid body movements of the mirrors, that may arise after ground alignment, and how they can be compensated in flight. The purpose is to derive the mechanical constraints that can be used for the design of the opto-mechanical mounting systems of the mirrors. This paper describes the methodology and preliminary results of this analysis, and discusses future steps.

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Paolo Chioetto, Andrea Tozzi, Anna Brucalassi, Debora Ferruzzi, Andrew Caldwell, Martin Caldwell, Fausto Cortecchia, Emiliano Diolaiti, Paul Eccleston, Elisa Guerriero, Matteo Lombini, Giuseppe Malaguti, Giuseppina Micela, Emanuele Pace, Enzo Pascale, Raffaele Piazzolla, Giampaolo Preti, Mario Salatti, Giovanna Tinetti, Elisabetta Tommasi, and Paola Zuppella "Preliminary analysis of ground-to-flight mechanical tolerances of the Ariel mission telescope", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 121804R (27 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628900

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