Characterization of the lightweight telescope developed for the NPOI

Jonathan R. Andrews; F. Ernesto Penado; Scott T. Broome; Christopher C. Wilcox; Sergio R. Restaino; Ty Martinez; Scott W. Teare; Freddie Santiago

doi:10.1117/12.672565

23 June 2006 Characterization of the lightweight telescope developed for the NPOI

Jonathan R. Andrews, F. Ernesto Penado, Scott T. Broome, Christopher C. Wilcox, Sergio R. Restaino, Ty Martinez, Scott W. Teare, Freddie Santiago

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6267, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes; 62673Q (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672565
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2006, Orlando, Florida , United States

Abstract

A 0.4 meter lightweight telescope has been developed as a prototype for a future 1.4 meter telescope to be implemented at the Naval Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI). Using carbon fiber construction for all components, including optics, an order of magnitude reduction in weight is easily obtainable, with the estimated weight of the 1.4 meter telescope being less than 300 pounds. However, lightweight composite materials traditionally offer certain drawbacks, such as different material behavior and vibration characteristics from conventional materials and difficulty in obtaining optical surface quality. This paper describes the characterization of the mechanical properties of the advanced materials used in the construction of these telescopes and includes measurements of the optical figure obtained with carbon fiber construction.

Citation Download Citation

Jonathan R. Andrews, F. Ernesto Penado, Scott T. Broome, Christopher C. Wilcox, Sergio R. Restaino, Ty Martinez, Scott W. Teare, and Freddie Santiago "Characterization of the lightweight telescope developed for the NPOI", Proc. SPIE 6267, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes, 62673Q (23 June 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.672565

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