Year: 2022
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: PLATO is an exoplanet hunting mission of the European Space Agency. It is a medium-class mission, with a launch foreseen in 2026. Its prime objective is to uncover Earth-sized planets residing in their habitable zone. The payload consists in 26 cameras with a very wide field of view. These cameras consist in a Telescope Optical Unit, aligned at ambient and characterised at the operational temperature, and a Focal Plane Array bearing the detectors, and delivered after coupling with the Front End Electronics. In this contribution, we report on the alignment of the Engineering Model camera of Plato, i.e., the input metrology, the mechanical alignment of the optical unit with the focal plane array, the test environment and the optical characterisation throughout the process until the integrity check after delivery to the cryo-vacuum testing facility where the camera underwent a thorough performance demonstration. We also give a detailed description of the bolting process and the associated error budget.
DOI: 10.1117/12.2628898
Authors: Pierre Royer, Ann Baeke, Guilhem Terrasa, Rik Huygen, Sara Regibo, Jacopo Farinato, Demetrio Magrin, Alexandra Mazzoli, Miriam Pajas, Bart Vandenbussche, Aline Hermans, Gabriel Millou, Daniele Vassallo, Ana Balado, Lionel Clermont, Andrea Cottinelli, Lorenza Ferrari, Nicolas Gorius, Wouter Laauwen, Yves Levillain, Andrea Novi, Isabella Pagano, Martin Pertenaïs, Gonzalo Ramos Zapata, Mario Salatti, Tim A. van Kempen
Institutions: KU Leuven, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, National Institute for Astrophysics, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Space Research Organisation Netherlands, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, European Space Research and Technology Centre, Leonardo (Italy), Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Language: English
Subfield: Instrumentation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: G5864655950, G8684520763
OpenAlex ID: W4285586157