Flexible Design for an in-Space Assembled Telescope
Name
RKD_SciTech2023_Revised.pdf
Size
756.53 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e3355db3529d8fea4fe5cf130787d844
Author(s)
Davidson, Rosemary
Miller, David W.
Date Issued
January 19, 2023
Journal
AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Citation
Davidson, Rosemary and Miller, David W. 2023. "Flexible Design for an in-Space Assembled Telescope." AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Many space-based and ground-based telescope proposals are trending towards larger primary mirror aperture diameters, driven in part by the desire within the astrophysics community to discover Earth-like exoplanets. Though ground-based telescopes can continue to grow in size, space-based telescopes are limited by the fairing size of a single launch vehicle. To enable larger and larger space-based telescopes, on-orbit assembly must be considered. This work seeks to understand the impact of flexible design options on the upfront and long-term costs of an in-space assembled telescope mission by evaluating space telescope architectures that incorporate different launch platforms. A 20-meter telescope concept is analyzed, and models of the structural, optical, thermal, launch, and trajectory subsystems are used to explore the impacts of flexible design on the launch costs and relative, or comparative, complexity of the telescope. The effects of uncertainty in the launch module are explored, and flexible design concepts are analyzed to identify alternate design concepts that were more favorable, in terms of estimated cost and complexity, once uncertainty is considered. The results of this analysis indicate that design concepts that incorporate flexibility in both the scope and timing of in-space telescope architectures, particularly those that use heritage design aspects from existing telescope missions, should be explored early in the concept development phase and may present better alternatives to existing in-space assembled telescope concepts.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-2547
