Pointing control system for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

Hans Juergen Kaercher; Peter Eisentraeger; Karl Wandner; Rainer Nordmann; Ulrich Schoenhoff

doi:10.1117/12.308840

26 May 1998 Pointing control system for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

Hans Juergen Kaercher, Peter Eisentraeger, Karl Wandner, Rainer Nordmann, Ulrich Schoenhoff

Proceedings Volume 3351, Telescope Control Systems III; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.308840
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 1998, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

SOFIA, the successor of NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory KAO, is at present under development as a joint program of NASA and the German Space Agency DLR. SOFIA consists of a 2.5 m class IR telescope operated in a Boeing 747SP airplane at altitudes above 41,000 ft. The environment conditions of the telescope during operations in the open port of the aircraft are very harsh and not comparable with those of earthbound telescopes or space telescopes. The narrowness of the port, the disturbances by aircraft vibrations, aero- acoustic loads and wind, the low air pressure and temperatures, the airworthiness regulations, and the specified pointing accuracy of 0.2 arcsec are challenges for the telescope design, which need peculiar decisions. The SOFIA telescope concept takes up some essential features of the KAO telescope, but also acknowledges the technological progress and the increased mirror size. The optimal use of modern design and analysis methods- 'end-to-end- simulations', which combine the behavior of the optical, the structural, mechanical, and the control system and subdue it to the disturbances in the aircraft environment. The paper presents the principles design features of the proposed pointing control system for SOFIA and the latest result of the pointing simulations.

Citation Download Citation

Hans Juergen Kaercher, Peter Eisentraeger, Karl Wandner, Rainer Nordmann, and Ulrich Schoenhoff "Pointing control system for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)", Proc. SPIE 3351, Telescope Control Systems III, (26 May 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.308840

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