Precise localization of the best image plane of PLATO telescope optical units

M. Pagliazzi; M. Dami; C. Pompei; M. Taiti; C. Simonelli; A. Grosso; A. Novi; E. Battistelli; E. Fossati; J. Farinato; D. Magrin; R. Ragazzoni

doi:10.1117/12.2629937

27 August 2022 Precise localization of the best image plane of PLATO telescope optical units

M. Pagliazzi, M. Dami, C. Pompei, M. Taiti, C. Simonelli, A. Grosso, A. Novi, E. Battistelli, E. Fossati, J. Farinato, D. Magrin, R. Ragazzoni

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 121804N (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629937
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Conference Poster

Abstract

The ESA M-size mission PLATO (PLAnetary Transits and Oscillation of stars) is scheduled for launch in 2026. During its 4-year mission orbiting Sun-Earth L2 is aimed at the discovery of exo-planets in nearby star systems. Its 26 cameras will be looking toward deep space, covering a wide area of the sky. Each camera is based on a fully dioptric design. Each camera is composed of a telescope optical unit (TOU) and a focal plane array (FPA). Here the procedure for the characterization of the best imaging plane (BIP) for each TOU is described. Camera manufacturing activity faces the challenge, by design, of locating the BIP for each TOU with high precision (±30 μm). Strict tolerances for accommodating the FPA are in fact in place in terms of inter-distances with respect to the mechanical mounts and tilts. Localization of the BIP will be carried out by mathematical optimization of the enclosed energy performances that will be evaluated at a pre-defined set of 45 field positions. Given the relatively big field-of-view of each camera (1037 deg2 for 24 normal-type and 610 deg2 for the 2 fast-type), this poses a challenge for a single service detector. Instead, an approach based on stitching single views of a smaller active area detector will be carried out. To circumvent performance limitations of detectors, for example, image degradation due to finite-size pixel sampling, dithering will be performed by leveraging a very precise mechanical positioner (hexapods) on which the detector is mounted.

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M. Pagliazzi, M. Dami, C. Pompei, M. Taiti, C. Simonelli, A. Grosso, A. Novi, E. Battistelli, E. Fossati, J. Farinato, D. Magrin, and R. Ragazzoni "Precise localization of the best image plane of PLATO telescope optical units", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 121804N (27 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629937

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