Design of a compliant passive magnetic bearing for use in SIRTF's Tertiary Mirror Assembly

David M. Cannon; Margot Brereton; Harry Dill; Mark T. Sullivan

doi:10.1117/12.23062

1 November 1990 Design of a compliant passive magnetic bearing for use in SIRTF's Tertiary Mirror Assembly

David M. Cannon, Margot Brereton, Harry Dill, Mark T. Sullivan

Proceedings Volume 1340, Cryogenic Optical Systems and Instruments IV; (1990) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.23062
Event: 34th Annual International Technical Symposium on Optical and Optoelectronic Applied Science and Engineering, 1990, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

A proposed baseline design for the Space Infrared Telescope Facility includes a Tertiary Mirror Assembly (TMA) which selectively redirects the telescope's converging science beam to each of several instruments. The TMA's mirror rotates on an axis coincident with the beam's axis,'and is held steady during observation by a kinematic mount. A bearing has been designed whose compliance causes minimal interference with the precision of the kinematic mount, and which is well suited to the particular requirements of a cryogenic sateffite such as SIRTF. The bearing suspends its rotor by taking advantage of the repulsion between a superconductor and a magnet. It potentially eliminates problems associated with mechanical bearings that arise in similar applications, such as lubricant loss or failure, bearing wear, and sensitivity to particulates, and does so without imposing the thermal load of a bearing heater or active magnetic bearing. The bearing shows promise of offering an alternative to ball bearings in cryogenic applications where some compliance is acceptable or advantageous.

Citation Download Citation

David M. Cannon, Margot Brereton, Harry Dill, and Mark T. Sullivan "Design of a compliant passive magnetic bearing for use in SIRTF's Tertiary Mirror Assembly", Proc. SPIE 1340, Cryogenic Optical Systems and Instruments IV, (1 November 1990); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.23062

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