A highly reproducible industrial process for aligning, focusing, and testing the PLATO telescope optical units

A. Novi; D. Piccotti; M. Marinai; U. Barozzi; V. Binante; A. Bini; M. Burresi; E. Capuano; M. Dami; P. Laganà; E. A. Macrì; O. Nannucci; C. Pompei; G. Postiglione; F. Ruggiero; E. Suetta; M. Taiti; M. Salatti; R. Piazzolla; D. Magrin; J. Farinato; I. Pagano; D. Valletti; F. Marioni; A. Ristori; G. Roini; A. Franciolini; R. Ragazzoni

doi:10.1117/12.3020325

23 August 2024 A highly reproducible industrial process for aligning, focusing, and testing the PLATO telescope optical units

A. Novi, D. Piccotti, M. Marinai, U. Barozzi, V. Binante, A. Bini, M. Burresi, E. Capuano, M. Dami, P. Laganà, E. A. Macrì, O. Nannucci, C. Pompei, G. Postiglione, F. Ruggiero, E. Suetta, M. Taiti, M. Salatti, R. Piazzolla, D. Magrin, J. Farinato, I. Pagano, D. Valletti, F. Marioni, A. Ristori, G. Roini, A. Franciolini, R. Ragazzoni

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 1309217 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020325
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Abstract

Leonardo SpA is leading an Italian Space Industry Team, funded by ASI, collaborating to the ESA mission PLATO program for the realization of the 26 telescopes, which will fly on a single platform, aimed to discover, observe and analyze the exoplanets. The mission is based on a challenging telescope design with peculiar optical performance to be assured at very low operative temperature (-80°C). The “large” number of telescopes, produced in high rate (up to 3 telescopes every 2 months), is quite unusual for the production of scientific payloads. It has imposed a change with respect the prototypical manufacturing and test approach, generally a few flight units for space equipment, addressing the implementation of smart and fast methodologies for aligning and focusing each telescope, based on simulation of the peculiar “as-built” data. The opto-mechanical design of the telescope has been optimized to implement an industrial approach for all the manufacturing, assembly, integration and test (MAIT) phases. The number, production rate and the performance results of the flight units so far delivered by Leonardo to the PLATO Consortium, are validating the selected design solutions and all the selected MAIT processes. All the units already delivered present very similar performance, full specs and very close to the theoretical design.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

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A. Novi, D. Piccotti, M. Marinai, U. Barozzi, V. Binante, A. Bini, M. Burresi, E. Capuano, M. Dami, P. Laganà, E. A. Macrì, O. Nannucci, C. Pompei, G. Postiglione, F. Ruggiero, E. Suetta, M. Taiti, M. Salatti, R. Piazzolla, D. Magrin, J. Farinato, I. Pagano, D. Valletti, F. Marioni, A. Ristori, G. Roini, A. Franciolini, and R. Ragazzoni "A highly reproducible industrial process for aligning, focusing, and testing the PLATO telescope optical units", Proc. SPIE 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 1309217 (23 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3020325

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