STOP model implementation for the PICTURE-C exoplanetary imaging balloon mission, progress report I: thermal modeling and comparison with flight data

Thaddeus Potter; Christopher Mendillo; Kuravi Hewawasam; Jason Martel; Timothy Cook; Supriya Chakrabarti

doi:10.1117/12.2630418

27 August 2022 STOP model implementation for the PICTURE-C exoplanetary imaging balloon mission, progress report I: thermal modeling and comparison with flight data

Thaddeus Potter, Christopher Mendillo, Kuravi Hewawasam, Jason Martel, Timothy Cook, Supriya Chakrabarti

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 1218057 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630418
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Conference Poster

Abstract

The Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment Coronagraph (PICTURE C) is a high-altitude balloon-borne observatory that uses a vector vortex coronagraph to image debris disks and exo-zodiacal dust around nearby stars. The engineering flight of PICTURE-C launched in September of 2019, successfully demonstrated several key technologies needed for the upcoming science flight, currently scheduled for September of 2022. The flight environment presents several challenges in thermal and mechanical effects. Low ambient pressure and temperature, approximately 4 Torr and 240 K respectively, combined with significant and varying solar irradiance, lead to time-dependent and anisotropic thermal deformation of the optics and their supporting structure. A constantly swaying observatory in a 1g environment, and the mechanical strains of a pointing system keeping the instrument on target lead to both a sag and flexing of the support structure. In order to characterize how these effects limit the ultimate performance of the mission, we present a finite-element model of the flight instrument, implemented in COMSOL, which takes into account the interactions with the environment. We present the comparison of this thermal model with the temperature data available from flight 1.

Citation Download Citation

Thaddeus Potter, Christopher Mendillo, Kuravi Hewawasam, Jason Martel, Timothy Cook, and Supriya Chakrabarti "STOP model implementation for the PICTURE-C exoplanetary imaging balloon mission, progress report I: thermal modeling and comparison with flight data", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 1218057 (27 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630418

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available