Gottini, Daniele;
Pace, Emanuele;
Tozzi, Andrea;
Bianucci, Giovanni;
Bocchieri, Andrea;
Brienza, Daniele;
Brucalassi, Anna;
... Zuppella, Paola; + view all
(2022)
FEA testing the pre-flight Ariel primary mirror.
In:
Proceedings of the Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave.
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Abstract
Ariel (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey) is an ESA M class mission aimed at the study of exoplanets. The satellite will orbit in the lagrangian point L2 and will survey a sample of 1000 exoplanets simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths. The challenging scientific goal of Ariel implies unprecedented engineering efforts to satisfy the severe requirements coming from the science in terms of accuracy. The most important specification – an all-Aluminum telescope – requires very accurate design of the primary mirror (M1), a novel, off-set paraboloid honeycomb mirror with ribs, edge, and reflective surface. To validate such a mirror, some tests were carried out on a prototype – namely Pathfinder Telescope Mirror (PTM) – built specifically for this purpose. These tests, carried out at the Centre Spatial de Liège in Belgium – revealed an unexpected deformation of the reflecting surface exceeding a peek-to-valley of 1µm. Consequently, the test had to be re-run, to identify systematic errors and correct the setting for future tests on the final prototype M1. To avoid the very expensive procedure of developing a new prototype and testing it both at room and cryogenic temperatures, it was decided to carry out some numerical simulations. These analyses allowed first to recognize and understand the reasoning behind the faults occurred during the testing phase, and later to apply the obtained knowledge to a new M1 design to set a defined guideline for future testing campaigns.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | FEA testing the pre-flight Ariel primary mirror |
| Event: | Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave |
| Location: | Montréal, Québec, Canada |
| Dates: | 17th-23rd July 2022 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1117/12.2629815 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629815 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10159734 |
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