January's launch of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRS) put an imaging infrared telescope in space. Its subsequent performance gives after-the-fact justification for the choice of beryllium as the material for optics and structure. In this paper, we examine the IRAS pre-flight test data to uncover the causes for the projected diffraction limit of ten micrometers and we will show that there is reason to project a considerably shorter practical wavelength limit for future applications such as Shuttle Infrared Telescope (SIRTF).
Cryogenic infrared imaging beryllium telescope for Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS)
Optical Engineering for Cold Environments ; 1983 ; Arlington,United States
Proc. SPIE ; 0414
1983-09-22
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
A telescope for the infrared astronomical satellite (IRAS)
Tema Archive | 1976
|Infrared astronomical satellite
Tema Archive | 1977
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