On-axis afocal telescopes as framework for CubeSat based astronomical imagers and slit-less spectrographs.
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| Title: | On-axis afocal telescopes as framework for CubeSat based astronomical imagers and slit-less spectrographs. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | MISHRA, ANWESH KUMAR1 (AUTHOR) mishraanwesh@gmail.com, BANERJEE, GOURAV1,2 (AUTHOR), MOHAN, REKHESH1 (AUTHOR), GOPINATHAN, MAHESWAR1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy. 10/8/2025, Vol. 46 Issue 2, p1-28. 28p. |
| Subjects: | CubeSats (Artificial satellites), Spectrographs, Optical engineering, Vibration tests, Telescopes, Astronomical photography, Astronomical observations |
| Abstract: | CubeSats present unique opportunities for observational astronomy in the modern era. They are useful in observing difficult-to-access wavelength regions and long-term monitoring of interesting astronomical sources. However, conventional telescope designs are not necessarily the best fit for the restricted envelope of a CubeSat. Additionally, fine-pointing stability on these platforms is difficult due to the low mass of the spacecraft, and special allocations within the optical design are needed to achieve stable pointing. We propose afocal telescope designs as the framework to realise imagers and low-resolution spectrographs on CubeSat platforms. These designs help reduce the number of components in the optical chain and aim to improve throughput and sensitivity compared to conventional designs. Additionally, they also provide a fine steering mechanism within a collimated beam section. Fine beam steering within the collimated beam section avoids issues of image degradation due to out-of-plane rotation of the image plane or offset in the rotation axis of the mirror. This permits using simple and mostly off-the-shelf tip-tilt mirrors for beam steering. The designs discussed here also allow for a standard telescope design to be used in many instrument types; thus reducing the complexity as well as the development time and cost. The optical design, performance, and SNR estimations of these designs, along with some interesting science cases, are discussed. Several practical aspects in implementation, such as guiding, tolerancing, choice of detectors, vibration analysis, and laboratory test setups, are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 189234778 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: On-axis afocal telescopes as framework for CubeSat based astronomical imagers and slit-less spectrographs. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22MISHRA%2C+ANWESH+KUMAR%22">MISHRA, ANWESH KUMAR</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> mishraanwesh@gmail.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22BANERJEE%2C+GOURAV%22">BANERJEE, GOURAV</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22MOHAN%2C+REKHESH%22">MOHAN, REKHESH</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22GOPINATHAN%2C+MAHESWAR%22">GOPINATHAN, MAHESWAR</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Astrophysics+%26+Astronomy%22">Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy</searchLink>. 10/8/2025, Vol. 46 Issue 2, p1-28. 28p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22CubeSats+%28Artificial+satellites%29%22">CubeSats (Artificial satellites)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Spectrographs%22">Spectrographs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Optical+engineering%22">Optical engineering</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vibration+tests%22">Vibration tests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Telescopes%22">Telescopes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Astronomical+photography%22">Astronomical photography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Astronomical+observations%22">Astronomical observations</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: CubeSats present unique opportunities for observational astronomy in the modern era. They are useful in observing difficult-to-access wavelength regions and long-term monitoring of interesting astronomical sources. However, conventional telescope designs are not necessarily the best fit for the restricted envelope of a CubeSat. Additionally, fine-pointing stability on these platforms is difficult due to the low mass of the spacecraft, and special allocations within the optical design are needed to achieve stable pointing. We propose afocal telescope designs as the framework to realise imagers and low-resolution spectrographs on CubeSat platforms. These designs help reduce the number of components in the optical chain and aim to improve throughput and sensitivity compared to conventional designs. Additionally, they also provide a fine steering mechanism within a collimated beam section. Fine beam steering within the collimated beam section avoids issues of image degradation due to out-of-plane rotation of the image plane or offset in the rotation axis of the mirror. This permits using simple and mostly off-the-shelf tip-tilt mirrors for beam steering. The designs discussed here also allow for a standard telescope design to be used in many instrument types; thus reducing the complexity as well as the development time and cost. The optical design, performance, and SNR estimations of these designs, along with some interesting science cases, are discussed. Several practical aspects in implementation, such as guiding, tolerancing, choice of detectors, vibration analysis, and laboratory test setups, are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s12036-025-10100-9 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 28 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: CubeSats (Artificial satellites) Type: general – SubjectFull: Spectrographs Type: general – SubjectFull: Optical engineering Type: general – SubjectFull: Vibration tests Type: general – SubjectFull: Telescopes Type: general – SubjectFull: Astronomical photography Type: general – SubjectFull: Astronomical observations Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: On-axis afocal telescopes as framework for CubeSat based astronomical imagers and slit-less spectrographs. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: MISHRA, ANWESH KUMAR – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: BANERJEE, GOURAV – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: MOHAN, REKHESH – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: GOPINATHAN, MAHESWAR IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 08 M: 10 Text: 10/8/2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 02506335 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 46 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Astrophysics & Astronomy Type: main |
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