D'Anca, Fabio;
Scippa, Antonio;
Guerriero, Elisa;
Lilli, Riccardo;
Gottini, Daniele;
Picchi, Paolo;
Tozzi, Andrea;
... Tinetti, Giovanna; + view all
(2024)
Development, manufacturing, and testing of Ariel’s structural model prototype flexure hinges.
In: Coyle, Laura E and Perrin, Marshall D and Matsuura, Shuji, (eds.)
Proceedings of the Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave.
(pp. p. 288).
Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)
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Abstract
The Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large Survey (Ariel) is the M4 mission adopted by ESA's "Cosmic Vision" program. Its launch is scheduled for 2029. The mission aims to study exoplanetary atmospheres on a target of ∼ 1000 exoplanets. Ariel's scientific payload consists of an off-axis, unobscured Cassegrain telescope. The light is directed towards a set of photometers and spectrometers with wavebands between 0.5 and 7.8 μm and operating at cryogenic temperatures. The Ariel Space Telescope consists of a primary parabolic mirror with an elliptical aperture of 1.1· 0.7 m, all bare aluminum. To date, aluminum mirrors the size of Ariel's primary have never been made. In fact, a disadvantage of making mirrors in this material is its low density, which facilitates deformation under thermal and mechanical stress of the optical surface, reducing the performance of the telescope. For this reason, studying each connection component between the primary mirror and the payload is essential. This paper describes, in particular, the development, manufacturing, and testing of the Flexure Hinges to connect Ariel's primary Structural Model mirror and its optical bench. The Flexure Hinges are components already widely used for space telescopes, but redesigning from scratch was a must in the case of Ariel, where the entire mirror and structures are made of aluminum. In fact, these flexures, as well as reducing the stress due to the connecting elements and the launch vibrations and maintaining the alignment of all the parts preventing plastic deformations, amplified for aluminum, must also have resonance frequencies different from those usually used, and must guarantee maximum contact (tolerance in the order of a micron) for the thermal conduction of heat. The entire work required approximately a year of work by the Ariel mechanical team in collaboration with the industry.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Development, manufacturing, and testing of Ariel’s structural model prototype flexure hinges |
| Event: | Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave |
| Location: | Yokohama, Japan |
| Dates: | 16th-22nd June 2024 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1117/12.3021633 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.3021633 |
| 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/10197941 |
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