Starfire Enclosure

Overview

The Starfire Optical Range at Kirkland Air Force Base did significant classified work in the 80's by developing adaptive optical technology to overcome the "seeing" limitations of large optical telescopes.  A large amount of optical turbulence may be removed by using an artificial star, produced by a laser, to probe the atmosphere and produce an error signal that can be used to "modulate" one of the telescopes mirrors.  Dynamic Structures was contracted to design and build a very special enclosure to house this unique telescope.

For more information on STARFIRE see http://www.de.afrl.af.mil/SOR/3_5m_telescope.htm

Challenge

Any structure that surrounds a telescope during operation creates a thermal footprint that can significantly affect image quality. Our challenge was to design a non-conventional enclosure, one that was virtually invisible thermally and dynamically, to protect the telescope when not in use.

Solution

The lightweight enclosure we designed was constructed from aluminum to reduce thermal mass. The enclosures inner walls were ducted to allow refrigerated air to pass through the interface. An ice plant was constructed to service the cooling of the enclosure. To eliminate any dynamic disturbance, the enclosure structure was isolated from the telescope structure. Unlike conventional enclosures which rotate with the telescope during observation, this structure was designed to lower in sections. Once lowered, the telescope could move unrestricted in both azimuth and elevation. With the telescope completely exposed thermal performance was greatly improved.

Outcome

The Starfire facility developed adaptive technology to a level where it is now considered an essential component to be added to the next generation of large optical telescopes. Ground-based telescopes using this technology can now produce images that are equivalent to images created by the Hubble Space Telescope. We were instrumental in designing and manufacturing an enclosure that made this possible.

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