Session
Session IV: Science/Mission Payloads
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The Deployable Space Telescope (DST), being developed at the Delft University of Technology, aims to drastically reduce volume and mass by using innovative deployable optics. The DST overall systems design is driven by a strict bottom-up versus top-down systems engineering approach. One of the critical subsystems is the secondary mirror (M2) support: its position must be accurate to 10 μm and stable to sub-micron levels. To support this critical budget the development and testing of the first key DST hardware comprises a machined COmpliant Rolling Element (CORE) hinge design. The main benefit of the hinge is its very low hysteresis, which will translate to good deployment repeatability and eliminate micro dynamic instabilities. The hysteresis was tested experimentally by a technique called Digital Image Correlation (DIC), which was proven to have resolutions down to 100 nm. Different strip configurations were applied to investigate the empirical optimisation of the hinge. The maximum hysteresis found was 0.3 μm with load cycles up to 400 N.
CORE Hinge Testing Phase results of the Delft Deployable Space Telescope
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The Deployable Space Telescope (DST), being developed at the Delft University of Technology, aims to drastically reduce volume and mass by using innovative deployable optics. The DST overall systems design is driven by a strict bottom-up versus top-down systems engineering approach. One of the critical subsystems is the secondary mirror (M2) support: its position must be accurate to 10 μm and stable to sub-micron levels. To support this critical budget the development and testing of the first key DST hardware comprises a machined COmpliant Rolling Element (CORE) hinge design. The main benefit of the hinge is its very low hysteresis, which will translate to good deployment repeatability and eliminate micro dynamic instabilities. The hysteresis was tested experimentally by a technique called Digital Image Correlation (DIC), which was proven to have resolutions down to 100 nm. Different strip configurations were applied to investigate the empirical optimisation of the hinge. The maximum hysteresis found was 0.3 μm with load cycles up to 400 N.
