Big Actuated Three-Mirror Anastigmat Network

Abstract

The success of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) ignited the scientific community to research a new era of telescope development. Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that there will be more missions of a similar nature and purpose in the future. From now until the time the JWST is retired from service, updates in telescope, mounting, deployment, and even launch technology capabilities will be realized. This thesis outlines the opto-mechanical packaging of an Off-Axis -Three Mirror Anastigmat (OA-TMA). This optical system is designed to have an entrance pupil diameter of 150 mm, a focal length of 407.185 mm, and a 2.10x2.050 Field of View (FOV). The operational imaging waveband for this system is in the mid-wave infrared band. The selected camera for this system is the Teledyne Neutrino QX1. Because the optical system is obscuration free, it results in a different packaging solution for space operation than that of the JWST. The primary requirement of this system is to fold into a smaller volume than its deployment configuration. The packaging method in this study resulted in a 66.7% reduction of volume.