SPIRALE - the first all-Cesic telescopes orbiting Earth

摘要

SPIRALE is a French Earth observation demonstration project onsisting of two satellites. In support of the project and under contract with Thales Alenia Space, ECM manufactured two fully integrated all-Cesic telescopes, composed of super-light-weighted complex monolithic structures, including two off-axis aspheric mirrors per telescope with integrated interfaces for mounting. The a1lCesic telescope assembly was tested under shock and vibration loads, and by exposure to realistic in-flight thermal environments. In this paper we describe the space-qualified process of manufacturing such high-precision space telescopes based on our Cesic technology; the advantages of our Cesic Cesic technology compared to traditional materials, such as metals or glass ceramics; and some of the test results. This project demonstrates that all-Cesic telescopes have great potential for future space applications, especially under cryogenic conditions, due to their athermal characteristics and the great versatility of the Cesic manufacturing process.