ATLAS Beam Steering Mechanism Lessons Learned

摘要

This paper describes the design, testing, and lessons learned during the development of the AdvancedrnTopographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) Beam Steering Mechanism (BSM). The BSM is a 2 degreeof-rnfreedom tip-tilt mechanism for the purpose of pointing a flat mirror to tightly control the co-alignment ofrnthe transmitted laser and the receiver telescope of the ATLAS instrument. The high resolution needs of thernmission resulted in sub-arcsecond pointing and knowledge requirements, which have been met.rnDevelopment of the methodology to verify performance required significant effort. The BSM will fly as partrnof the Ice, Cloud, and Elevation Satellite II Mission (ICESat II), which is scheduled to be launched in 2017.rnThe ICESat II primary mission is to map the Earth’s surface topography for the determination of seasonalrnchanges of ice sheet thickness and vegetation canopy thickness to establish long-term trends.