On-gimbal telescope pointing assembly
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsTim P. Johnson, Chris Shreve
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An on-gimbal telescope pointing assembly can include a head mirror operable to rotate to adjust an elevation angle of the pointing assembly and an all-reflective telescope operable to rotate to adjust an azimuth angle of the pointing assembly. The all-reflective telescope can include a fold mirror defining an output coude path of the all-reflective telescope. The pointing assembly can be operable to rotate about the coude path such that receiving optics can remain fixed while the pointing assembly rotates.
Claims20
An on-gimbal telescope pointing assembly comprising:
- a head mirror operable to rotate to adjust an elevation angle of the pointing assembly;
- and
- an all-reflective telescope operable to rotate to adjust an azimuth angle of the pointing assembly, wherein the all-reflective telescope comprises:
- a fold mirror defining an output coude path of the all-reflective telescope, wherein the pointing assembly is operable to rotate about the coude path;
- and
- a plurality of mirrors, wherein at least one mirror of the plurality of mirrors is disposed off of an axis defined by the coude path, the at least one mirror balancing the all-reflective telescope during rotation.
An on-gimbal telescope pointing assembly comprising:
- a head mirror operable to rotate to adjust an elevation angle of the pointing assembly;
- and
- an all-reflective telescope operable to rotate to adjust an azimuth angle of the pointing assembly;
- wherein the on-gimbal telescope pointing assembly comprises a field of view of at least two by four degrees.
A method for configuring an on-gimbal telescope pointing assembly, the method comprising:
- configuring a head mirror that is operable to adjust an elevation angle of the pointing assembly;
- and
- configuring an all-reflective telescope that is operable to adjust an azimuth angle of the pointing assembly, wherein the all-reflective telescope comprises:
- a fold mirror defining an output coude path of the pointing assembly, wherein the pointing assembly is operable to rotate about the coude path;
- and
- a plurality of mirrors, wherein at least one mirror of the plurality of mirrors is disposed off of an axis defined by the coude path, the at least one mirror balancing the all-reflective telescope during rotation.
An on-gimbal telescope pointing assembly comprising:
- a head mirror operable to rotate to adjust an elevation angle of the pointing assembly;
- and
- a telescope comprising a plurality of mirrors, wherein two or more mirrors of the plurality of mirrors are oriented and centered along a first plane;
- wherein one of the two or more mirrors comprises a fold mirror defining an output coude path of the telescope;
- wherein the pointing assembly is operable to rotate about the coude path;
- and
- wherein at least one mirror of the plurality of mirrors is positioned and centered off of the first plane and is disposed off of an axis defined by the coude path, the at least one mirror balancing the telescope during rotation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.