Paper 14145-300
Paper 14145-300
A possible telescope for Theon: feasibility study for a 2-meter aperture silicon carbide optical telescope assembly for the Theon mission concept
9 July 2026 • 17:30 - 19:00 CEST | Room B4-M3
Abstract
We present a 2 meter Silicon Carbide (SiC) Optical Telescope Assembly (OTA) basic design, hosting an active secondary mirror. We show compliance for this design with the scientific performance requirements of both flavors of the mission: Theon and Theon*. Furthermore, we show that the OTA complies with the ESA M-class mission boundaries with respect to mass, volume, and mechanical loads. The OTA weight, including the active secondary mirror, is projected to be less than 400 kg.
Simulations show that the SiC OTA is strong enough to be launched (in a vertical configuration) on both, an Ariane-6-2 and a Falcon 9 - Block 5 launch vehicle.
We finally link this analysis to a split test concept presented in another paper of this conference, and how this concept allows a cost and time optimized manufacturing sequence, minimizing schedule-related risks. [Grupp, et al. 2026 this conference]
Presenter
Univ.-Sternwarte München (Germany), Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik (Germany)
After working on several Échelle spectrographs like FOCES, CAFÉ, the Weihai Echelle Spectrograph and the Lamost HiRes spectrograph, Frank Grupp designed the optics and instruments of the 2m Wendelstein Telescope.
He also serves as optical architect for the ESA Euclid mission, he designed and is responsible for building and testing the near infrared wide field optics of the NISP instrument on board of Euclid. Frank joined the ESO MICADO project in 2017 designing the optics for the main selection mechanism: low resolution imager, spectrograph and pupil imager.
Working in the cosmic microwave polarization mission LiteBIRD Frank is managing the German contribution to LiteBIRD since 2019. Inside this collaboration LMU is responsible for the magnetic hood covering the detector planes of the LHFT instrument. Most recently Frank joined the Ariel consortium with a LMU contribution on the dichroic beam splitters of the common optics in Ariel.
Frank was awarded SPIE senior membership in 2021.