![]() ![]() ![]() In addition, there are possibilities for multiple deployments and piggybacking as a strategy to further reduce launch cost. The fact that large apertures can be folded and “stowed” in the launcher occupying a fraction of their total size makes it possible to have much larger resolutions without the need of heavy launchers. Here deployable space optics have also attracted a lot of attention in recent years due to their ability to enable cheaper and more agile deployment of large aperture systems, which also increases the possible GSD and therefore the market value of the observations. The state-of-the-art Worldview-3 satellite weighs 2800 kg. 5 While it is possible to fit such a system in a conventional launcher fairing, the resulting systems with conventional, rigid configurations are very heavy. 4įrom a typical low Earth orbit (LEO), primary mirror apertures in VHR systems such as Worldview 4 are in the order of 1 m. The sector was estimated to be worth $1.6 billion in 2014, with current projections predicting a total value of $8.5 billion worldwide by 2026. 3Īt the same time, the Earth Observation (EO) market has experienced consistent growth over the past decade, with very high resolution (VHR) imaging, defined as ground sampling distances (GSDs) of less than 1 m, taking the larger piece of the total market value. 2 The engineering effort to produce a deployable space telescope (DST) with a segmented aperture has crystallized in the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an optical to infrared (IR) astronomical telescope to be launched into an L2 orbit in 2021. 1 In these systems, manufacturing capabilities and gravity sag impose limits to the achievable size of individual mirrors. The precursor technology to these systems is the use of segmented aperture mirrors in ground-based observatories. In addition, a long focal length allows larger demagnification of the object.ĭeployable space optical instruments originally gathered attention within the astronomical community due to their potential to increase the primary aperture and the focal length of space telescopes beyond the limits imposed by launch vehicle fairings. Therefore, a telescope intended to observe distant targets with high detail needs a large aperture. The maximum achievable resolution, for a given distance to the object and wavelength, of an optical system is determined by the physical aperture of its entrance pupil.
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