AbstractThe HIPPARCOS Satellite, a project of the European Space Agency, developed by European Industry led by MATRA, is devoted to astrometry with the ultimate goal of allowing the establishment of a catalogue of stellar astrometric parameters of some 100 000 stars to an accuracy of 2 milliarc-seconds.Whereas the overall aspects of the Hipparcos mission and the design of the platform are presented separately by E. Zeis et al (1) and M. Le Moine et al (2), the present paper deals with a description of the scientific payload of the satellite. The principle of the payload is outlined covering all major design features associated with the optical telescope. The configuration is described in some detail together with the necessary resources.The next section is devoted to a review of the performances required from the payload. The instrumental parameters are recalled, followed by a survey of the mission related performances such as an extreme mechanical and thermal stability, and the very high optical quality of the mirrors.The hardware and associated technology are then described in detail since they are believed to represent in many areas a major challenge for European industry. The status of development is presented for key items such as the Beam Combiner, the Optics, the focal plane modulating grid, and the thermo-mechanical hardware.Finally, the industrial organization is briefly recalled together with the development approach which has been adopted. Since the verification of performances in such a demanding project is essential to the success of the mission, the main performance tests and associated ground support equipment are also presented.
The scientific payload of the HIPPARCOS astrometry satellite
Acta Astronautica ; 14 ; 207-217
1986-01-01
11 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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