LDR: An Orbiting Submillimeter-Infrared Telescope For The 1990s

Paul N. Swanson; M. Kiya

doi:10.1117/12.934196

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23 August 1983 LDR: An Orbiting Submillimeter-Infrared Telescope For The 1990s

Paul N. Swanson, M. Kiya

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Proceedings Volume 0365, Adaptive Optics Systems and Technology; (1983) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.934196
Event: 26th Annual Technical Symposium, 1982, San Diego, United States

Abstract

The history and background of LDR is reviewed. The results of the June 1982 Asilomar Workshop are incorporated into the LDR science objectives and telescope concept. The areas where the LDR may have the greatest scientific impact are in the study of star formation and planetary systems in our own and nearby galaxies and in cosmological studies of the structure and evolution of the early universe. The observational requirements for these and other scientific studies give rise to a set of telescope functional requirements. These, in turn, are satisfied by an LDR configuration which is a Cassegrain design with a 20 m diameter, actively controlled, segmented, primary reflector, diffraction limited at a wave-length of 30-50 pm. Technical challenges in the LDR development include construction of high tolerance mirror segments, surface figure measurement, figure control, vibration control, pointing, cryogenics and coherent detectors. Project status and future plans for the LDR are discussed.

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Paul N. Swanson and M. Kiya "LDR: An Orbiting Submillimeter-Infrared Telescope For The 1990s", Proc. SPIE 0365, Adaptive Optics Systems and Technology, (23 August 1983); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.934196

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