The Seimei telescope project and technical developments

ABSTRACT An overview of the Seimei telescope, a 3.8 m optical infrared telescope located on Mt. Chikurinji in the Okayama prefecture of Japan, is presented. Seimei is a segmented-mirror telescope whose primary mirror consists of 18 petal-shaped segments. The telescope tube supporting the thin segmented mirrors is structurally incorporated within large arc-rails providing the elevation axis. The tube has a light-weight homologous structure designed with a genetic algorithm. The total weight of the telescope tube, including 1.4-ton optics, is only 8 tons. By virtue of its light weight, the telescope is able to point at an object anywhere in the observable sky within one minute. The telescope is operated by Kyoto University in collaboration with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). Half of the telescope time is used by Kyoto University. The remaining time is open to the Japanese astronomical community. NAOJ is responsible for the management of the open-use time, including handling of the observation proposals. The telescope is now regularly performing scientific observations on the basis of a variety of proposals.

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Primary mirror active control system simulation of Prototype Segmented Mirror Telescope

2017 Indian Control Conference (ICC) ◽

10.1109/indiancc.2017.7846502 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Prasanna Deshmukh ◽

Deepta Sundar Mishra ◽

Padmakar Parihar ◽

Vedashree

Keyword(s):

Control System ◽

Active Control ◽

System Simulation ◽

Primary Mirror ◽

Active Control System ◽

Segmented Mirror ◽

Mirror Telescope

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Giant Segmented Mirror Telescope (GSMT) Structure - A Conceptual Design

10.1117/12.459958 ◽

2003 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Frank W. Kan ◽

Joseph Antebi

Keyword(s):

Conceptual Design ◽

Segmented Mirror ◽

Mirror Telescope

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Position Sensors And Actuators For Figure Control Of A Segmented Mirror Telescope

10.1117/12.957065 ◽

1979 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

George Gabor

Keyword(s):

Sensors And Actuators ◽

Segmented Mirror ◽

Mirror Telescope

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The University of California Ten Meter Telescope Project: Recent Developments

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100108851 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 79 ◽

pp. 755-765

Author(s):

Jerry E. Nelson

Keyword(s):

University Of California ◽

Light Weight ◽

Astronomical Observations ◽

Primary Mirror ◽

Recent Developments ◽

The Cost ◽

The University ◽

Considerable Detail

The University of California has been actively designing a ten meter telescope (TMT) for optical and infrared groundbased astronomical observations since 1977. The project, now developed in considerable detail, is described in a series of Ten Meter Telescope Reports, technical notes, and publications (see, for example, Nelson 1980,1981,1982). In order to achieve an acceptable cost for the project, the design departs substantially from conventional telescope designs. Recognizing that the cost is roughly proportional to the weight of the structure and to the enclosed volume, we have made the reduction of weight and size a high priority goal of the design. To achieve these objectives a light-weight segmented primary mirror was designed. The parabolic primary is a mosaic of 36 hexagonal segments. In addition, the primary focal ratio is f/1.75, thus resulting in a short telescope tube; this allows a very compact dome.

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Fabrication of the 6.5-m primary mirror for the Multiple Mirror Telescope Conversion

10.1117/12.269063 ◽

1997 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Hubert M. Martin ◽

James H. Burge ◽

Dean A. Ketelsen ◽

Steve C. West

Keyword(s):

Primary Mirror ◽

Mirror Telescope

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Industrial Verification of Piezo Motors on a CubeSat Based Verification Platform

CANEUS2006: MNT for Aerospace Applications ◽

10.1115/caneus2006-11084 ◽

2006 ◽

Author(s):

Manuel Czech ◽

Ulrich Walter

Keyword(s):

Complex Systems ◽

Low Complexity ◽

Micro Electro Mechanical System ◽

Mission Design ◽

Technology Readiness ◽

Key Technology ◽

Mems Technology ◽

Segmented Mirror ◽

Mirror Telescope

Due to the classification of technologies in NASA’s and ESA’s technology readiness levels, newly developed components have to be space proven before they can be utilized in space missions. This space prove can be adduced by sending these technologies to orbit either as experiment on a piggyback flight or a dedicated mission. Over the last years the size of technologies and satellites has shifted to much smaller sizes. In this paper, the possibility of industrial verification of MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) applications using dedicated pico-satellite missions is examined. Based on the CubeSat concept, a technology verification platform can be realized for verification of not only pico-satellite components, but also of components of complex systems and missions. Therefore a platform fulfilling the requirements for such industrial verification of components named MOVE (Munich Orbital Verification Experiment) is developed at the Institute of Astronautics (LRT). This platform enables professional verification of MEMS technology and techniques at overall mission costs of less than 100k€. As a first application of this approach, a mission called π-MOVE (π for piezo) will verify piezo motors on the developed platform. These piezo motors are representative for components of complex systems, as this motor concept is considered to be key technology for future segmented mirror telescope missions. In the mission design process for this platform, strong emphasis is put on the robustness of the design, low complexity and realizability within the institute’s environment. The advantages through access to both university and industry resources will be taken. The feasibility of professional technology verification is highly dependent on the test plans, which are developed in cooperation with the experienced industrial partners.

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