Preliminary design of a smart composite telescope for space laser communication on a satellite for the Geosynchronous orbit

Mehrdad N. Ghasemi-Nejhad; Nicolas Antin

doi:10.1117/12.881894

27 April 2011 Preliminary design of a smart composite telescope for space laser communication on a satellite for the Geosynchronous orbit

Mehrdad N. Ghasemi-Nejhad, Nicolas Antin

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Proceedings Volume 7977, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011; 797723 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.881894
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

This paper presents a preliminary design of a smart composite telescope for space laser communication. The smart composite telescope will be mounted on a smart composite platform with Simultaneous Precision Positioning and Vibration Suppression (SPPVS), and then mounted on a satellite. The laser communication is intended for the Geosynchronous orbit. The high degree of directionality increases the security of the laser communication signal (as opposed to a diffused RF signal), but also requires sophisticated subsystems for transmission and acquisition. The shorter wavelength of the optical spectrum increases the data transmission rates, but laser systems require large amounts of power, which increases the mass and complexity of the supporting systems. In addition, the laser communication on the Geosynchronous orbit requires an accurate platform with SPPVS capabilities. Therefore, this work also addresses the design of an active composite platform to be used to simultaneously point and stabilize an inter-satellite laser communication telescope with micro-radian pointing resolution. The telescope is a Cassegrain receiver that employs two mirrors, one convex (primary) and the other concave (secondary). The distance, as well as the horizontal and axial alignment of the mirrors, must be precisely maintained or else the optical properties of the system will be severely degraded. The alignment will also have to be maintained during thruster firings, which will require vibration suppression capabilities of the system as well. The innovative platform has been designed to have tip-tilt pointing and simultaneous multi-degree-of- freedom vibration isolation capability for pointing stabilization.

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Mehrdad N. Ghasemi-Nejhad and Nicolas Antin "Preliminary design of a smart composite telescope for space laser communication on a satellite for the Geosynchronous orbit", Proc. SPIE 7977, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011, 797723 (27 April 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.881894

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KEYWORDS

Telescopes

Space telescopes

Mirrors

Composites

Laser communications

Mirror mounts

Optical instrument design

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