A Scientific Assessment of a New Technology Orbital Telescope (1995) / Chapter Skim
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1 INTRODUCTION
1 INTRODUCTION
Pages 7-13
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From page 7... ...
Similarly, placing the telescope in a high Earth orbit can significantly increase observing efficiency and greatly reduce demanding operational constraints relative to those of a similar instrument in a low Earth orbit, such as the HST. Each of these new concepts, however, carries a significant penalty in terms of increased risk.
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From page 8... ...
Since these components are key to any potential scientific utility, the bulk of this report is devoted to assessing the ability of this hardware to perform a variety of priority astronomical observations. As presented to the Task Group on BMDO New Technology Orbital Observatory by representatives of BMDO, Lockheed, and Itek, DOD's technological goals for the ATD program include the following: i · Complete resolution of the ability to Back and point a laser beam at a missile in the boosting phase in a space environment from the correct orbit geometries and ranges for a space-based laser; · Track and gather data on reentry vehicles and decoys at long ranges; · Gather imagery in the visible and near-infrared of space objects at geosynchronous orbits; · Gather Earn background data at high resolution on the water and carbon dioxide bands in He short- and medium-wave infrared as a data base for future system design; · Gather data on He observables of a missile in the boost phase; and · Demonstrate the ability to designate targets on the ground from a space platform for the use of laser-guided weapons in a tactical scenario.
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From page 9... ...
Testing of ALOT in Itek's thermal-vacuum chamber revealed that the active control system could yield a residual wavefront error of 70 nm rms in the presence of active disturbances to the beam. All of ALOT's support structures are made of graphite-epoxy composite, including the tripod supporting the secondary mirror, the Casseg rain baffle, and the reaction structure supporting the segmented primary mirror.
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From page 10... ...
Spacecraft Bus Custom-designing satellites to meet the requirements of each particular payload is inherently expensive. Commercial opportunities, such as meeting the demand for the many tens or hundreds of satellites required by, for example, global cellular telecommunications systems such as Iridium and Teledesic, have prompted many aerospace concerns to develop generic buses capable of supporting a variety of payloads.
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From page 11... ...
A somewhat similar concept, the Polar Stratospheric Telescope, envisages deploying a telescope similar to the ATD/NTOT beneath a high-altitude aerostat tethered in Alaska.4 The ATD/NTOT technology is _ , , Box 1.2 ATD Costs and Schedule The proposed costs of major elements of the ATD 4-meter space telescope, together with a summary of its construction schedule and the facilities to be used in its testing, are based on information supplied by Lockheed and Itek. Costs of modifications necessary for an astronomy mission are not included.
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From page 12... ...
, it notes that there is significant uncertainty as to the precise nature of the baseline mission. Discussions between the task group and project officials have already led to changes that either enhance or do not interfere with the baseline mission and do not have a significant cost impact.
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From page 13... ...
2. ADAPT: StarLITE Special Studies Task Final Report, LMSC P005092, Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., 1993.
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