Open Access Paper
12 July 2019 PILOT optical alignment
B. Mot, G. Roudil, Y. Longval, P. Ade, Y. André, J. Aumont, L. Baustista, J. -P. Bernard, N. Bray, P. de Bernardis, O. Boulade, F. Bousquet, M. Bouzit, V. Buttice, A. Caillat, M. Charra, M. Chaigneau, B. Crane, J. -P. Crussaire, F. Douchin, E. Doumayrou, J. -P. Dubois, C. Engel, P. Etcheto, P. Gélot, M. Griffin, G. Foenard, S. Grabarnik, P. Hargrave, A. Hughes, R. Laureijs, Y. Lepennec, B. Leriche, S. Maestre, B. Maffei, J. Martignac, C. Marty, W. Marty, S. Masi, F. Mirc, R. Misawa, J. Montel, L. Montier, J. Narbonne, J. -P. Nicot, F. Pajot, G. Parot, E. Pérot, J. Pimentao, G. Pisano, N. Ponthieu, I. Ristorcelli, L. Rodriguez, M. Salatino, G. Savini, O. Simonella, M. Saccoccio, P. Tapie, J. Tauber, J. -P. Torre, C. Tucker
Author Affiliations +
Proceedings Volume 11180, International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2018; 111806Z (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2536170
Event: International Conference on Space Optics - ICSO 2018, 2018, Chania, Greece
Abstract
PILOT (Polarized Instrument for Long wavelength Observations of the Tenuous interstellar medium) is a balloonborne astronomy experiment designed to study the polarization of dust emission in the diffuse interstellar medium in our Galaxy. The PILOT instrument allows observations at wavelengths 240 μm and 550 μm with an angular resolution of about two arcminutes. The observations performed during the two first flights performed from Timmins, Ontario Canada, and from Alice-springs, Australia, respectively in September 2015 and in April 2017 have demonstrated the good performances of the instrument. Pilot optics is composed of an off axis Gregorian type telescope combined with a refractive re-imager system. All optical elements, except the primary mirror, which is at ambient temperature, are inside a cryostat and cooled down to 3K. The whole optical system is aligned on ground at room temperature using dedicated means and procedures in order to keep the tight requirements on the focus position and ensure the instrument optical performances during the various phases of a flight. We’ll present the optical performances and the firsts results obtained during the two first flight campaigns. The talk describes the system analysis, the alignment methods, and finally the inflight performances.
© (2019) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
B. Mot, G. Roudil, Y. Longval, P. Ade, Y. André, J. Aumont, L. Baustista, J. -P. Bernard, N. Bray, P. de Bernardis, O. Boulade, F. Bousquet, M. Bouzit, V. Buttice, A. Caillat, M. Charra, M. Chaigneau, B. Crane, J. -P. Crussaire, F. Douchin, E. Doumayrou, J. -P. Dubois, C. Engel, P. Etcheto, P. Gélot, M. Griffin, G. Foenard, S. Grabarnik, P. Hargrave, A. Hughes, R. Laureijs, Y. Lepennec, B. Leriche, S. Maestre, B. Maffei, J. Martignac, C. Marty, W. Marty, S. Masi, F. Mirc, R. Misawa, J. Montel, L. Montier, J. Narbonne, J. -P. Nicot, F. Pajot, G. Parot, E. Pérot, J. Pimentao, G. Pisano, N. Ponthieu, I. Ristorcelli, L. Rodriguez, M. Salatino, G. Savini, O. Simonella, M. Saccoccio, P. Tapie, J. Tauber, J. -P. Torre, and C. Tucker "PILOT optical alignment", Proc. SPIE 11180, International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2018, 111806Z (12 July 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2536170
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KEYWORDS
Mirrors

Optical alignment

Telescopes

Thermal modeling

Galactic astronomy

Image quality

Off axis mirrors

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