Paper 13100-38
Paper 13100-38
Status and first results of the NASA IRTF Adaptive Secondary Mirror
17 June 2024 • 15:45 - 16:00 Japan Standard Time | Room G214, North - 2F
Abstract
This paper describes the status and first results of the Adaptive Secondary Mirror (ASM) for the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF). The ASM consists of a 244mm-diameter convex aspherical mirror shell, manipulated by 36 variable-reluctance actuators, designed to retrofit the passive M2.
The ASM was shipped to UH in Hilo in February 2024, where performance was tested in the lab. The IRTF ASM saw ‘first light’ on telescope on the 23rd of April, already attaining a closed loop image that was diffraction limited at the H-band with a long-exposure Strehl at 1.62 microns of ~35%-40% in sub-arcsecond seeing during the first night. This paper will report on the status and first results of the IRTF ASM, including the latest status of the deformable mirror technology at TNO and an outlook to a second generation IRTF ASM with improved dynamic performance and increased actuator count.
Presenter
Arjo Bos
TNO (Netherlands)
Arjo Bos received his MSc (Cum Laude) and PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology with a specialization in precision mechanics in 2013 and 2017, respectively. His MSc project on the design of a “Nanometer Form Measurement Machine for ELT M1 Segments”, conducted in cooperation with TNO Optomechatronics in Delft, led to a patent application, a journal paper and an invitation as speaker at an annual ASPE conference. His PhD was on the design, analysis and realization of a position actuator for the ELT primary mirror where he realized three working prototypes. After his PhD, he worked in industry for about a year before officially joining TNO. Nowadays, Arjo is a Systems Engineer and Mechanical Lead Engineer within TNO, working in various projects related to ground-based astronomy (adaptive secondary mirrors such as the NASA IRTF ASM, laser projection systems, and mirror support structures), laser-satellite communication, space, and semicon.