Update on the survivability of high-actuator-count MEMS deformable mirror to rocket launch.

Axel Potier; Garreth Ruane; Camilo Mejia Prada; Wesley Baxter; Duncan Liu; Hong Tang; A.J. Eldorado Riggs; Phillip Poon; Eduardo Bendek; Nick Siegler; Mary Soria; Mark Hetzel; Charlie Lam; Paul Bierden

doi:10.1117/12.2629915

29 August 2022 Update on the survivability of high-actuator-count MEMS deformable mirror to rocket launch.

Axel Potier, Garreth Ruane, Camilo Mejia Prada, Wesley Baxter, Duncan Liu, Hong Tang, A.J. Eldorado Riggs, Phillip Poon, Eduardo Bendek, Nick Siegler, Mary Soria, Mark Hetzel, Charlie Lam, Paul Bierden

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 121805S (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629915
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Conference Poster

Abstract

The recent Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey 2020 has prioritized the development of technologies for direct imaging of Earth-like exoplanets with a future flagship mission. This mission may make use of a coronagraph instrument to attenuate bright starlight and enable the imaging of extremely faint exoplanet companions. Deformable mirrors (DMs) are critical to control the wavefront upstream coronagraphs and enable the required contrast performance. The DMs need a high number of actuators to create large dark zones in the images where exoplanets might be discovered (50 to 96 across). The DMs also require a picometer level of precision and cannot afford any significant mechanical or electrical defect during operations. NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program therefore commissioned the manufacturing of two high-count (50x50) microelectromechanical (MEMS) DMs to test their robustness to the vibrational environments that the DMs will be exposed to during launch. These DMs were subjected to conservative flight-like conditions and underwent a battery of in-air tests to study their reliability. From our results, we conclude the readiness of MEMS DMs technology for future space-based application. © California Institute of Technology 2022. All rights reserved. Government sponsorship acknowledged.

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Axel Potier, Garreth Ruane, Camilo Mejia Prada, Wesley Baxter, Duncan Liu, Hong Tang, A.J. Eldorado Riggs, Phillip Poon, Eduardo Bendek, Nick Siegler, Mary Soria, Mark Hetzel, Charlie Lam, and Paul Bierden "Update on the survivability of high-actuator-count MEMS deformable mirror to rocket launch.", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 121805S (29 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629915

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