Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Although large cryogenic space telescopes may provide a means of answering compelling astrophysics questions, the required increase in the primary mirror diameter presents technical challenges. Larger primaries are more flexible, and cryogenic mirrors are typically very lightly damped—the material damping is negligible, and common damping methods break down. To address these challenges, we propose placing flux-pinning mechanisms along the edges of adjacent mirror segments. These mechanisms consist of a collection of magnets and superconductors, and like flexures, they preferentially allow motion in specific degrees of freedom. Motion in nonpreferred degrees of freedom is resisted by a force analogous to a damped spring force, and the stiffness and damping can be adjusted independently. As an example, we consider simple mechanisms consisting of an inexpensive magnet and a single superconductor. These mechanisms provide increasing resistance as the magnet and superconductor—or mirror segments attached to each—come closer to colliding. These mechanisms, with typical stiffness and damping values on the order of 5000 N/m and 5 kg/s, respectively, also provide modest improvements to the mirror performance. Greater gains can be achieved by using stronger magnets or smaller separations, or by placing nonmagnetic conductive materials near the mechanism.
Institutions: Cornell University, Marshall Space Flight Center
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Awards: STSCI WILL PARTNER WITH MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER AND ITT TO DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGY PLAN TO MATURE ADVANCED NORMAL INCIDENCE MIRRORS TO A TECHNOLOGY, ARCHITECTING THE VERY-LARGE-APERTURE FLUX-PINNED SPACE TELESCOPE: A SCALABLE, MODULAR OPTICAL ARRAY WITH HIGH AGILITY AND PASSIVELY STABLE ORBITAL D
OpenAlex ID: W2161773643