Speaker
Description
The Solar Coronagraph for OPErations (SCOPE) is a coronagraph that has been developed at RAL Space to support Europe’s space weather monitoring capabilities. Recent development of the design has focussed on an adaptable approach that ensures the instrument can be accommodated on both an L5 and LEO mission. This presentation will cover the considerations and thermal analysis involved in the latest phase of development to achieve performance in these two environments.
The success of the coronograph depends on its optical performance, which the structural alignment of the instrument plays a role in. The structural alignment is influenced by thermo-elastic deformations which are determined by the outcome of the thermal analysis. Therefore there are no explicit thermal requirements on the coronograph, but an optical requirement that depends on collaboration between structural and thermal design to achieve. The STOP (Structural, Thermal Optical) analysis performed for both L5 and LEO options will be described, and the interdependencies of different engineering disciplines will be discussed.