The Next Generation Space Telescope. Design Considerations
B. Scott May, Grad. Student, Option in Civ. Engrg., Calif. Inst. of Tech.
Pasadena, CA 91125; formerly, Dept. of Civ. Engrg., The Johns Hopkins Univ.,
Baltimore, MD 21218-2686, Student Member ASCE
and Nicholas P. Jones, Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Civ. Engrg., The Johns Hopkins
Univ., Baltimore, MD 21218-2686, A.M. ASCE.
Abstract:
The pointing control system of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) represents the
current state-of-the-art for the precision control of a large spacecraft. The
proposed Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) will require an
order-of-magnitude increase in pointing resolution over that of HST. The use
of active optics in the form of a steerable secondary mirror has been proposed
for NGST in order to satisfy these requirements. An introduction to some of
the design concepts associated with the design of the NGST, including a
description of the proposed vehicle, a description of the pertinent design
parameters, and a description of the types of disturbances to which it may be
subjected is given herein. A companion paper provides a description of a
feasibility study conducted to evaluate the use of a control system for the
implementation of "beam steering" to compensate for the motion of the vehicle
without necessitating the reorientation of the whole structure.