This PDF file contains the editorial “Welcome to the Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems” for JATIS Vol. 1 Issue 01

Although large cryogenic space telescopes may provide a means of answering compelling astrophysics questions, the required increase in the primary mirror diameter presents technical challenges. Larger primaries are more flexible, and cryogenic mirrors are typically very lightly damped—the material damping is negligible, and common damping methods break down. To address these challenges, we propose placing flux-pinning mechanisms along the edges of adjacent mirror segments. These mechanisms consist of a collection of magnets and superconductors, and like flexures, they preferentially allow motion in specific degrees of freedom. Motion in nonpreferred degrees of freedom is resisted by a force analogous to a damped spring force, and the stiffness and damping can be adjusted independently. As an example, we consider simple mechanisms consisting of an inexpensive magnet and a single superconductor. These mechanisms provide increasing resistance as the magnet and superconductor—or mirror segments attached to each—come closer to colliding. These mechanisms, with typical stiffness and damping values on the order of 5000  N/m and 5  kg/s, respectively, also provide modest improvements to the mirror performance. Greater gains can be achieved by using stronger magnets or smaller separations, or by placing nonmagnetic conductive materials near the mechanism.

As future astrophysics missions require space telescopes with greater sensitivity and angular resolution, the corresponding increase in the primary mirror diameter presents numerous challenges. Since fairing restrictions limit the maximum diameter of monolithic and deployable segmented mirrors that can be launched, there is a need for on-orbit assembly methods that decouple the mirror diameter from the choice of launch vehicle. In addition, larger mirrors are more susceptible to vibrations and are typically so lightly damped that vibrations could persist for some time if uncontrolled. To address these challenges, we present a segmented mirror architecture in which the segments are connected edgewise by mechanisms analogous to damped springs. These mechanisms can be damped springs, flux-pinning mechanisms, virtual mechanisms, or any other device with the same basic behavior. Using a parametric finite-element model, we show that for low to intermediate stiffnesses, the stiffness and damping contributions from the mechanisms improve both the natural frequency and disturbance response of the segmented mirror. At higher stiffnesses, the mechanisms structurally connect the segments, leading to a segmented mirror that performs comparably to a monolith—or better, depending on the mechanism damping—with the modular design enabling on-orbit assembly and scalability.

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will search for planets transiting bright and nearby stars. TESS has been selected by NASA for launch in 2017 as an Astrophysics Explorer mission. The spacecraft will be placed into a highly elliptical 13.7-day orbit around the Earth. During its 2-year mission, TESS will employ four wide-field optical charge-coupled device cameras to monitor at least 200,000 main-sequence dwarf stars with I_C≈4−13 for temporary drops in brightness caused by planetary transits. Each star will be observed for an interval ranging from 1 month to 1 year, depending mainly on the star’s ecliptic latitude. The longest observing intervals will be for stars near the ecliptic poles, which are the optimal locations for follow-up observations with the James Webb Space Telescope. Brightness measurements of preselected target stars will be recorded every 2 min, and full frame images will be recorded every 30 min. TESS stars will be 10 to 100 times brighter than those surveyed by the pioneering Kepler mission. This will make TESS planets easier to characterize with follow-up observations. TESS is expected to find more than a thousand planets smaller than Neptune, including dozens that are comparable in size to the Earth. Public data releases will occur every 4 months, inviting immediate community-wide efforts to study the new planets. The TESS legacy will be a catalog of the nearest and brightest stars hosting transiting planets, which will endure as highly favorable targets for detailed investigations.

Active control algorithms for space telescopes are less mature than those for large ground telescopes due to differences in the wavefront control problems. Active wavefront control for space telescopes at L2, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), requires weighing control costs against the benefits of correcting wavefront perturbations that are a predictable byproduct of the observing schedule, which is known and determined in advance. To improve the control algorithms for these telescopes, we have developed a model that calculates the temperature and wavefront evolution during a hypothetical mission, assuming the dominant wavefront perturbations are due to changes in the spacecraft attitude with respect to the sun. Using this model, we show that the wavefront can be controlled passively by introducing scheduling constraints that limit the allowable attitudes for an observation based on the observation duration and the mean telescope temperature. We also describe the implementation of a predictive controller designed to prevent the wavefront error (WFE) from exceeding a desired threshold. This controller outperforms simpler algorithms even with substantial model error, achieving a lower WFE without requiring significantly more corrections. Consequently, predictive wavefront control based on known spacecraft attitude plans is a promising approach for JWST and other future active space observatories.

We report the fabrication of imaging quality optical mirrors with smooth surfaces using carbon nanotubes (CNT) embedded in an epoxy matrix. CNT/epoxy is a multifunctional composite material that has sensing capabilities and can be made to incorporate self-actuation. Moreover, as the precursor is a low density liquid, large and lightweight mirrors can be fabricated by processes such as replication, spincasting, and three-dimensional printing. Therefore, the technology holds promise for the development of a new generation of lightweight, compact “smart” telescope mirrors with figure sensing and active or adaptive figure control. We report on measurements made of optical and mechanical characteristics, active optics experiments, and numerical modeling. We discuss possible paths for future development.

The Advanced Telescope for High Energy Astrophysics (Athena) has been selected for ESA’s L2 mission, scheduled for launch in 2028. It will provide the necessary capabilities to achieve the ambitious goals of the science theme “The Hot and Energetic Universe.” Athena’s x-ray mirrors will be based on silicon pore optics technology with a 12-m focal length. Two complementary focal plane camera systems are foreseen, which can be moved interchangeably to the focus of the mirror system: the actively shielded micro-calorimeter spectrometer X-IFU and the wide field imager (WFI). The WFI camera will provide an unprecedented survey power through its large field of view of 40 arc min with a high count-rate capability (∼1  Crab). It permits a state-of-the-art energy resolution in the energy band of 0.1 to 15 keV during the entire mission lifetime (e.g., full width at half maximum ≤150  eV at 6 keV). This performance is accomplished by a set of depleted P-channel field effect transistor (DEPFET) active pixel sensor matrices with a pixel size well suited to the angular resolution of 5 arc sec (on-axis) of the mirror system. Each DEPFET pixel is a combined detector-amplifier structure with a MOSFET integrated onto a fully depleted 450-μm-thick silicon bulk. This manuscript will summarize the current instrument concept and design, the status of the technology development, and the envisaged baseline performance.

An approach to enhancing the noise performance of an InP monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC)-based low noise amplifiers (LNA) through the use of a discrete 100-nm gate length InP high electron mobility transistor is outlined. This LNA, known as a transistor in front of MMIC (T + MMIC) LNA, possesses a gain in excess of 40 dB and an average noise temperature of 9.4 K across the band 27 to 33 GHz at a physical temperature of 8 K. This compares favorably with 14.5 K for an LNA containing an equivalent MMIC. A simple advanced design system model offering further insights into the operation of the LNA is also presented and the LNA is compared with the current state-of-the-art Planck LFI LNAs.

Strontium iodide doped with europium [SrI₂(Eu²⁺)] is a new scintillator material being developed as an alternative to lanthanum bromide doped with cerium [LaBr₃(Ce³⁺)] for use in high-energy astrophysical detectors. As with all scintillators, the issue of nonproportionality is important because it affects the energy resolution of the detector. We investigate how the nonproportionality of SrI₂(Eu²⁺) changes as a function of temperature from 16 to 60°C by heating the SrI₂(Eu²⁺) scintillator separate from the photomultiplier tube. In a separate experiment, we also investigate the nonproportionality at high energies (up to 6 MeV) of SrI₂(Eu²⁺) at a testing facility located at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. We find that the nonproportionality increases nearly monotonically as the temperature of the SrI₂(Eu²⁺) scintillator is increased, although there is evidence of nonmonotonic behavior near 40°C, perhaps due to electric charge carriers trapping in the material. We also find that within the energy range of 662 keV to 6.1 MeV, the change in the nonproportionality of SrI₂(Eu²⁺) is ∼1.5 to 2%.

We explore the use of hexagonal segment tip-tilt-piston deformable mirrors alone and paired with pinhole spatial filter arrays for high-order wavefront correction of nulling interferometers used for visible light study of exoplanetary systems at 10⁷ to 10¹⁰ contrast within regions extending ∼0.1 to 6 arc s from a parent star. A similar system has been proposed using a single-mode fiber array as an alternative to using multiple deformable mirrors to correct both phase aberrations and balance electric field amplitude, the benefit being drastically reduced component and control complexity. Performance is compared using measured deformable mirror data for hexagonal arrays consisting of a number of rings N_R=2 to 18, emphasizing the trade between throughput and the additional contrast gained from suppressing wavefront errors introduced by the deformable mirror at spatial frequencies Λ≥N_R that are otherwise present in the image at corresponding field locations. Taking into account effects of loss of throughput and vignetting, the nulled signal-to-noise ratio is shown to improve for filtered systems in the outer portion of the field of view. Modeled performance shows no significant change in signal-to-noise in the inner field of view.

The FORS (closed loop forecasting system) control algorithm has been already successfully applied to improve the efficiency of a simulated adaptive optics (AO) system. To test its performance in real conditions, we implemented this algorithm in a hardware AO demonstrator, introducing controlled aberrations into the system. We present here the results of introducing into the system both a simple periodic defocus aberration and a real open loop defocus time sequence acquired at the vacuum tower telescope solar telescope. In both cases, FORS yields a significant performance increase, improving the stability of the system in closed-loop conditions and decreasing the amplitude of the residual uncorrected wavefront aberrations.

Segmented primary mirror telescopes require dedicated piston-tip-tilt actuators for optimal optical performance. Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) has developed various prototypes of such actuators, in particular for the E-ELT. This paper presents the dynamics analysis and feedback control results for a specific two-stage prototype. First, the dynamics of the actuator in interconnection with the to-be-positioned mass has been analyzed, both using frequency response measurements and first principles modeling, resulting in a detailed understanding of the dynamic behavior of the system. Next, feedback controllers for both the fine and the coarse stage have been designed and implemented. Finally, the feedback-controlled actuator has been subjected to a realistic tracking experiment; the achieved results have demonstrated that the TNO actuator is able to suppress wind force disturbances and ground vibrations with more than a factor 10³, down to 1.4 nm root mean square, which is compliant with the requirements.