Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Observatory Overview

Casey, T.; Armani, N.; Alexander, W.; Bartusek, L.; Blaurock, C.; Braun, D.; Carra, A.; Content, D.; Conturie, Y.; Cottingham, C.; Demers, R.; Dipirro, M.; Effinger, R.; Egerman, R.; Forkl, F.; Gao, G.; Godo, S.; Gygax, J.; Hagopian, J.; Hahm, T.; Hawk, J.; Hobbs, G.; Jackson, C.; Jurling, A.; Kern, B.; Kruk, J.; Li, X.; Liu, A.; Marx, C.; Marzouk, M.; McDonald, C.; Melton, M.; Mondello, J.; Noecker, C.; Pasquale, B.; Peabody, H.; Poberezhskiy, I.; Powell, C.; Rosanova, G.; Ruffa, J.; Smith, J.; Tang, H.; Tolman, C.; Whipple, A.; Wilson, T.; Vess, M.; Voyer, P.

NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is being designed to deliver unprecedented capability in dark energy and exoplanet science, and to host a technology demonstration coronagraph for exoplanet imaging and spectroscopy. The observatory design has matured since 2013; we present a comprehensive description of the observatory configuration as refined during the WFIRST Phase-A study. The observatory is based on an existing, repurposed 2.4 meter space telescope coupled with a 288 megapixel near-infrared (0.6 to 2 microns) HgCdTe focal plane array with multiple imaging and spectrographic modes. Together they deliver a 0.28 square degree field of view, which is approximately 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope, and a sensitivity that enables rapid science surveys. In addition, the coronagraph technology demonstration will prove the feasibility of new techniques for exoplanet discovery, imaging, and spectral analysis. A composite truss structure meters both instruments to the telescope assembly, and the instruments and the spacecraft are flight serviceable. We present configuration changes since 2013 that improved interfaces, improved testability, and reduced technical risk. We provide an overview of our Integrated Modeling results, performed at an unprecedented level for a phase-A study, to illustrate performance margins with respect to static wavefront error, jitter, and thermal drift.

Document ID

20180004012

Document Type

Conference Paper

Authors

Casey, T. (ASRC Aerospace Corp. Beltsville, MD, United States)

Armani, N. (Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Alexander, W. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Bartusek, L. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Blaurock, C. (Trident Vantage Systems LLC. Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Braun, D. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)

Carra, A. (Structural Design and Analysis Sterling, VA, United States)

Content, D. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Conturie, Y. (Harris Corp. Rochester, NY, United States)

Cottingham, C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Demers, R. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)

Dipirro, M. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Effinger, R. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)

Egerman, R. (Harris Corp. Rochester, NY, United States)

Forkl, F. (Harris Corp. Rochester, NY, United States)

Gao, G. (Sigma Space Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)

Godo, S. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Gygax, J. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Hagopian, J. (Sigma Space Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)

Hahm, T. (Harris Corp. Rochester, NY, United States)

Hawk, J. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Hobbs, G. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Jackson, C. (Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Jurling, A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Kern, B. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)

Kruk, J. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Li, X. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Liu, A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Marx, C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Marzouk, M. (Sigma Space Corp. Lanham, MD, United States)

McDonald, C. (Edge Space Systems Glenelg, MD, United States)

Melton, M. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Mondello, J. (Harris Corp. Rochester, NY, United States)

Noecker, C. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)

Pasquale, B. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Peabody, H. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Poberezhskiy, I. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)

Powell, C. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Rosanova, G. (ATA Aerospace Inc., Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Ruffa, J. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Smith, J. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Tang, H. (Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)

Tolman, C. (Genesis Engineering Solutions, Inc. Lanham, MD, United States)

Whipple, A. (Conceptual Analytics Inc. Glendale, MD, United States)

Wilson, T. (Harris Corp. Rochester, NY, United States)

Vess, M. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)

Voyer, P. (Harris Corp. Rochester, NY, United States)

Date Acquired

July 25, 2018

Publication Date

June 10, 2018

Subject Category

Report/Patent Number

Meeting Information

SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation(Austin, TX)

Funding Number(s)

Distribution Limits

Public

Portions of document may include copyright protected material.

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20180004012.pdf

STI

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

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