A SmallSat mission study for STARLITE: superluminous tomographic atmospheric reconstruction with laser-beacons for imaging terrestrial exoplanets

Adam B. Johnson; Ashley Padres; Ryan Hughes; Carmine Buonagura; Zane Chapman; Alexia Kubas; Veronica Hegelein; Ishan Mishra; Adler Smith; Abu Taqui Md Tahsin; Akshiti Parashar; Rafid Bendimerad; Deemo Chen; Qizhi Lu; Asterios Aidan Kounios; Devin Desilva; Verena Padres; Jamie Lloyd; Dmitry Savransky; Joshua Umansky-Castro; Andrew van Paridon; Elaine Petro

doi:10.1117/12.3018042

23 August 2024 A SmallSat mission study for STARLITE: superluminous tomographic atmospheric reconstruction with laser-beacons for imaging terrestrial exoplanets

Adam B. Johnson, Ashley Padres, Ryan Hughes, Carmine Buonagura, Zane Chapman, Alexia Kubas, Veronica Hegelein, Ishan Mishra, Adler Smith, Abu Taqui Md Tahsin, Akshiti Parashar, Rafid Bendimerad, Deemo Chen, Qizhi Lu, Asterios Aidan Kounios, Devin Desilva, Verena Padres, Jamie Lloyd, Dmitry Savransky, Joshua Umansky-Castro, Andrew van Paridon, Elaine Petro

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 130922U (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018042
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

In the search for life in our galaxy, and for understanding the origins of our solar system, the direct imaging and characterization of Earth-like exoplanets is key. In a step towards achieving these goals, the Superluminous Tomographic Atmospheric Reconstruction with Laser-beacons for Imaging Terrestrial Exoplanets (STARLITE) mission uses five CubeSats in a highly elliptical orbit as artificial guide stars to enable tomographic reconstruction of the atmosphere for extreme multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO). Through the use of current and next-generation extremely-large ground-based telescopes, the STARLITE constellation at its ∼350,000 km apogee can provide brighter than -10 magnitude artificial guide stars from a 10 cm launching telescope in a sub-arcminute field of view for up to an hour. Careful selection and design of the ∼760 nm on-board laser will allow O₂ detection and characterization of exoplanet atmospheres. At a size of 12U, each satellite weighs only 19 kg and utilizes mostly commercially available off-the-shelf components to keep costs per satellite around $2M. In this paper, we will present the satellite mission concept and early system design for the STARLITE constellation.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

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Adam B. Johnson, Ashley Padres, Ryan Hughes, Carmine Buonagura, Zane Chapman, Alexia Kubas, Veronica Hegelein, Ishan Mishra, Adler Smith, Abu Taqui Md Tahsin, Akshiti Parashar, Rafid Bendimerad, Deemo Chen, Qizhi Lu, Asterios Aidan Kounios, Devin Desilva, Verena Padres, Jamie Lloyd, Dmitry Savransky, Joshua Umansky-Castro, Andrew van Paridon, and Elaine Petro "A SmallSat mission study for STARLITE: superluminous tomographic atmospheric reconstruction with laser-beacons for imaging terrestrial exoplanets", Proc. SPIE 13092, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2024: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 130922U (23 August 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018042

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