Strategies for servicing the Single Aperture Far IR (SAFIR) telescope

摘要

The Single Aperture Far Infrared (SAFIR) observatory is a high priority mission for NASA and space astronomy. This ten-meter diameter telescope, operating at <10 Kelvin, will chart the formation of galaxies and elements in the early universe, map debris disks around stars to track hidden planets, and explore the chemistry of life in the universe. While baselined as an autonomously deployed telescope, we consider enabling factors that in-space operations would bring to this telescope - in particular, servicing opportunities that would dramatically increase the scientific lifetime and productivity of the observatory. The use of humans and robots to support and conduct servicing, at the operational site of Earth-Sun L2 and primarily at Earth-Moon L1, are considered, and the required capabilities are reviewed. SAFIR shares many characteristics of future large telescopes in space, and strategies developed for this strawman case are applicable for broader planning efforts.