A Method for Mounting Space Telescope Optical Systems Based on the Sensitivity Matrix of Intrinsic Coefficients

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Astrophysics
• Space Science

Background:

• Large aperture space telescopes are vital for space debris and celestial body detection.
• Limited internal space in these telescopes presents challenges for optical system mounting and alignment.
• Traditional methods for optical system alignment can be complex and require detector partitioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel space telescope mounting method for large aperture systems.
• To simplify wavefront reconstruction and improve optical system alignment.
• To address the challenge of limited space within the telescope's optical system.

Main Methods:

• A space telescope mounting method combining wavefront detection technology and an intrinsic coefficient sensitivity matrix.
• Utilizing eigenfactors for system wave aberration characterization.
• Establishing a sensitivity matrix model based on misalignment.
• Experimental testing on a 1.2 m diameter telescope.

Main Results:

• The proposed method simplifies wavefront reconstruction matrix construction without detector partitioning.
• Experimental results on a 1.2 m telescope demonstrated wavefront aberration RMS values below λ/16.
• Effective correction of eccentricity and tilting misalignments was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed mounting method is valuable for large aperture space telescope optical systems.
• The technique offers a simplified and effective approach to optical system alignment and aberration correction.
• This advancement is significant for enhancing the performance of telescopes used in space debris detection.