AIT; AIV; aluminum mirrors; Ariel mission; assembly integration testing; Cassegrain; space telescope; Aluminium mirrors; Assembly integration and tests; Assembly integration testing; Atmospheric remote sensing; Atmospheric remote-sensing infrared exoplanet large survey mission; Cryogenic temperatures; Exo-planets; Large surveys; Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Computer Science Applications; Applied Mathematics; Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Abstract :
[en] Ariel (Atmospheric Remote-Sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large Survey) is ESA’s M4 mission of the “Cosmic Vision” program, with launch scheduled for 2029. Its purpose is to conduct a survey of the atmospheres of known exoplanets through transit spectroscopy. Ariel is based on a 1 m class telescope optimized for spectroscopy in the waveband between 1.95 and 7.8 µm, operating at cryogenic temperatures in the range 40–50 K. The Ariel Telescope is an off-axis, unobscured Cassegrain design, with a parabolic recollimating tertiary mirror and a flat folding mirror directing the output beam parallel to the optical bench. The secondary mirror is mounted on a rototranslating stage for adjustments during the mission. The mirrors and supporting structures are all realized in an aerospace-grade aluminum alloy T6061 for ease of manufacturing and thermalization. The low stiffness of the material, however, poses unique challenges to integration and alignment. Care must be therefore employed when designing and planning the assembly and alignment procedures, necessarily performed at room temperature and with gravity, and the optical performance tests at cryogenic temperatures. This paper provides a high-level description of the Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) plan for the Ariel telescope and gives an overview of the analyses and reasoning that led to the specific choices and solutions adopted.
Disciplines :
Aerospace & aeronautics engineering
Author, co-author :
Chioetto, Paolo; Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie di Padova, CNR, Padova, Italy ; Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, INAF, Firenze, Italy
Araiza-Durán, José Antonio; Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, INAF, Firenze, Italy
Planning the integration and test of a space telescope with a 1 m aluminum primary mirror: the Ariel Mission case
Publication date :
2024
Event name :
Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave
Event place :
Yokohama, Jpn
Event date :
16-06-2024 => 22-06-2024
Audience :
International
Main work title :
Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave
Editor :
Coyle, Laura E.
Publisher :
International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE)
ISBN/EAN :
978-1-5106-7507-0
Funders :
JNTO - Japan National Tourism Organization NAOJ - National Astronomical Observatory of Japan NICT - National Institute of Information and Communications Technology SPIE - Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
Funding text :
The activities described in this paper are being developed under the Implementation Agreement n. 2021-5-HH.0 \u201CItalian Participation to Ariel mission phase B2/C\u201D between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) and under ASI contracts n. 2021-21-I.0 \u201CARIEL TA Phase B Industrial Activities\u201D and n. 2023-42-I.0 \"ARIEL TA Phase C/D1 Industrial Activities\".
Tinetti, G., Drossart, P., Eccleston, P., Hartogh, P., Heske, A., Leconte, J., Micela, G., Ollivier, M., Pilbratt, G., Puig, L., Turrini, D., Vandenbussche, B., Wolkenberg, P., Beaulieu, J.-P., Buchave, L. A., Ferus, M., Griffin, M., Guedel, M., Justtanont, K., et al., “A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL,” Exp Astron 46(1), 135–209 (2018).
Da Deppo, V., Middleton, K., Focardi, M., Morgante, G., Claudi, R., Pace, E., Grella, S., Ficai Veltroni, I. and Micela, G., “The afocal telescope optical design and tolerance analysis for the ESA ARIEL mission,” Proc. SPIE 10590, International Optical Design Conference 2017, 105901P, SPIE, Denver, United States (2017).
Da Deppo, V., Morgante, G., Pace, E., Middleton, M. and Eccleston, P., “ARIEL Telescope Material Trade-Off,” Technical Paper ARIEL-INAF-PL-TN-004 (2017).
Chioetto, P., “Optical and Opto-mechanical Analysis and design of the Telescope for the Ariel Mission,” PhD Dissertation (2023).
Chioetto, P., Zuppella, P., Da Deppo, V., Pace, E., Morgante, G., Terenzi, L., Brienza, D., Missaglia, N., Bianucci, G., Spinelli, S., Guerriero, E., Rossi, M., Grèzes-Besset, C., Bondet, C., Chauveau, G., Porta, C., Malaguti, G., Micela, G., and the ARIEL Team., “Qualification of the thermal stabilization, polishing and coating procedures for the aluminum telescope mirrors of the ARIEL mission,” Exp Astron 53, 885–904 (2022).
Tozzi, A., Brucalassi, A., Canestrari, R., Chioetto, P., Del Vecchio, C., Carbonaro, L., Cortecchia, F., Diolaiti, E., Eccleston, P., Falcini, G., Ferruzzi, D., Gottini, D., Guerriero, E., Iuzzolino, M., Lilli, R., Lombini, M., Malaguti, G., Micela, G., Miceli, F., et al., “Toward ARIEL’s primary mirror,” Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave 12180, 193, SPIE, Montréal, Canada (2022).
Gottini, D., Pace, E., Tozzi, A., Bianucci, G., Bocchieri, A., Brienza, D., Brucalassi, A., Canestrari, R., Carbonaro, L., Chioetto, P., Cortecchia, F., Del Vecchio, C., Diolaiti, E., Eccleston, P., Fahmy, S., Ferruzzi, D., Galy, C., Grisoni, G., Guerriero, E., et al., “FEA testing the pre-flight Ariel primary mirror,” Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave 12180, 195, SPIE, Montréal, Canada (2022).
Chioetto, P., Tozzi, A., Brucalassi, A., Ferruzzi, D., Caldwell, A., Caldwell, M., Cortecchia, F., Diolaiti, E., Eccleston, P., Guerriero, E., Lombini, M., Malaguti, G., Micela, G., Pace, E., Pascale, E., Piazzolla, R., Preti, G., Salatti, M., Tinetti, G., et al., “Preliminary analysis of ground-to-flight mechanical tolerances of the Ariel mission telescope,” Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 121804R, SPIE, Montréal, Canada (2022).
Zinn, J. W. and Jones, G. W., “Kepler primary mirror assembly: FEA surface figure analyses and comparison to metrology,” presented at Optical Engineering + Applications, 13 September 2007, San Diego, CA, 667105.
Stahl, H. P., “Absolute characterization of gravity sag,” Optical Manufacturing and Testing XIII, 46, SPIE, Online Only, United States (2020).
