A 4-meter wide field coronagraph space telescope for general astrophysics and exoplanet observations

Domenick Tenerelli; Roger Angel; Jim Burge; Olivier Guyon; Ann Zabludoff; Ruslan Belikov; Eugene Pluzhnik; Robert Egerman

doi:10.1117/12.860719

5 August 2010 A 4-meter wide field coronagraph space telescope for general astrophysics and exoplanet observations

Domenick Tenerelli, Roger Angel, Jim Burge, Olivier Guyon, Ann Zabludoff, Ruslan Belikov, Eugene Pluzhnik, Robert Egerman

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7731, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 77311N (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.860719
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Wide Field Coronagraph Telescope (WFCT) is a 4-meter space telescope for general astrophysics and exoplanet observations that meets the 2000 Decadal Committee requirements. This paper presents a design for a 4-m diameter, off-axis space telescope that offers high performance in both wide field and coronagraphic imaging modes. A 3.8 x 3.3-m unobstructed elliptical pupil is provided for direct coronagraphic imaging of exoplanets and a 4-m diameter pupil for wide-field imaging from far-ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (IR). The off-axis wide-field optics are all reflective and designed to deliver an average of 12 nm wavefront aberrations over a 6 x 24 arcminute field of view (FOV), therefore providing diffraction-limited images down to 300 nm wavelength and 15 mas images down to a wavelength limit set only by the mirror coatings. The coronagraph with phase-induced amplitude apodization (PIAA) provides diffraction suppression around a 360-degree field with high Strehl and sensitivity at the 1e-10 level to an inner working angle of 2 λ/D (or 50 mas at 500 nm wavelength). This paper focuses on the optical design that allows the above imaging features to be combined in single telescope, and gives a preliminary spacecraft design and costing, assuming a distant trailing orbit.

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Domenick Tenerelli, Roger Angel, Jim Burge, Olivier Guyon, Ann Zabludoff, Ruslan Belikov, Eugene Pluzhnik, and Robert Egerman "A 4-meter wide field coronagraph space telescope for general astrophysics and exoplanet observations", Proc. SPIE 7731, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2010: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 77311N (5 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.860719

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KEYWORDS

Mirrors

Coronagraphy

Space operations

Space telescopes

Telescopes

Galactic astronomy

Exoplanets

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