Dobson Space Telescope - Development of the deployment mechanism
- Paper number
IAC-05-C2.1.B.03
- Author
Mr. Bjoern Danziger, Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Matthias Lieder, Technical University of Berlin, Germany
- Coauthor
Mr. Tom Segert, Technical University of Berlin, Germany
- Year
2005
- Abstract
The DOBSON SPACE TELESCOPE Project is a student initiative at the Technische Universität Berlin (TU-Berlin). It is our aim to develop foldable optics for micro satellite application. The Idea is to overcome the volume limits of hitchhiker pay-loads by disassembling the telescope during transport and reassemble it for observation. This technology will enable satellites of the 100kg class to carry 20inch mirror optics. It will enable missions where one much bigger and much more expensive satellites would have been used. The Project is part of the micro satellites activities at our university (the TUB-Sat family). It is supervised by Prof. Briess the former project manager of the DLR BIRD mission. The core group consist of 3 master students from the TU-Berlin. Due to the high complexity of the topic it was the team acquired external expert knowledge from the beginning. With the help of nearly a dozen external experts of various fields we formed a science network. Therefore the DOBSON SPACE TELESCOPE has become a dynamic and well known project in the micro satellite business. At the moment the team is building up two test-beds for the verification of the critical key technologies. One of the test-beds is for the test of the deployment mechanism (test-bed1) and the other one for the collimation mechanism (test-bed2). For a full proof of the functionality of the key-technologies it is necessary to run tests under microgravity. Therefore the team of the DOBSON SPACE TELESCOPE Project has applied for Student Parabolic Flight Campaign. For the Student Parabolic Flight Campaign third test-bed is necessary. This test-bed will be a combined test-bed. The collimation mechanism test-bed will be integrated in the deployment mechanism test-bed. An approach for the development mechanism is done. Based on this approach a first test-boom has been produced. Until May 2005 the series of measurement will be completed. Depending on these results it may be necessary to improve test-boom. The paper will focus on the development approach of the deployment mechanism and on the measurement results for the test-bed1.
- Abstract document