The PICTURE-C exoplanetary imaging balloon mission: a refactored thermal model and framework for an end-to-end model for balloon borne coronagraphs

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

doi:10.1117/12.2677591

4 October 2023 The PICTURE-C exoplanetary imaging balloon mission: a refactored thermal model and framework for an end-to-end model for balloon borne coronagraphs

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

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12676, UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes and Instruments: Innovative Technologies and Concepts XI; 126760V (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677591
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2023, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The Planetary Imaging Concept Testbed Using a Recoverable Experiment - Coronagraph (PICTURE C) is a high-altitude balloon-borne observatory that used a vector vortex coronagraph to image dust and debris disks around nearby stars, as well as develop and test technology necessary for direct imaging of exoplanets from a flight platform. The balloon flight environment presents several challenges: an ambient pressure and temperature of approximately 4 Torr and 220-240 K, combined with significant and varying solar irradiance, lead to time-dependent and anisotropic thermal deformation of the optics and their supporting 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 Thermal Desktop, which takes into account the interactions with the environment. We present the comparison of this thermal model with flight data.

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Thaddeus Potter, Christopher Mendillo, Kuravi Hewawasam, Jason Martel, Timothy Cook, and Supriya Chakrabarti "The PICTURE-C exoplanetary imaging balloon mission: a refactored thermal model and framework for an end-to-end model for balloon borne coronagraphs", Proc. SPIE 12676, UV/Optical/IR Space Telescopes and Instruments: Innovative Technologies and Concepts XI, 126760V (4 October 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2677591

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KEYWORDS

Thermal modeling

Data modeling

Balloons

Coronagraphy

Mirrors

Optical benches

Observatories

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