• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.57.3-57.3
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• 2019

Space applications of the motion have been served with DC motors for decades. But their functionality with a gearbox and lubricants and their weights are always an issue for its application. A piezo-motor has an advantage on the direct driving with higher accuracy, smaller size, and no-EMI. We use the piezo-motor to rotate a filter wheel directly in a balloon-borne coronagraph launched on September 2019. The piezo-motor works well in a temperature range from -10 to 40 Celsius with high reliability and high positioning / tilt accuracy (~0.1degree) with a photo-encoder. We verify its functionality for 7 days. In this talk, we report the design, test processes of the filter wheel including its balloon flight result.

• The Bulletin of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.88.1-88.1
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• 2017

We report a novel design of the "linear astigmatism-free" three mirror system (LAF-TMS). In general, the linear astigmatism is one of the most dominant aberration degrading image qualities in common off-axis systems. The proposed LAF-TMS is based on a confocal off-axis three mirror system, where higher order aberrations are minimized via our numerical optimization. The system comprises three pieces of aluminum-alloy freeform mirrors that are feasible to be fabricated with current single-point diamond turning (SPDT) machining technology. The surface figures, dimensions, and positions of mirrors are carefully optimized for a LAF performance. For higher precision-positioning mechanism, we also included alignment parts: shims (for tilting) and L-brackets (for decentering). Any possible mechanical deformation due to assembly process as well as 1-G gravity, and its influence on optical performances of the system are investigated via the finite element (FE) analysis. The LAF-TMS has low f-number and a wide field of view, which is promising for sky monitoring programs such as supernova surveys.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.49-56
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• 2015

In this paper, we introduce a simulation tool for solar system using 3D animation tool MAYA. It accurately models solar system's astronomical features, such as each planet's orbital period, orbital speed, relative size, and texture, etc. This simulator visualize the solar system in 3D, which can be used to easily understands the system's positioning and astronomical movements. With a conventional Maya modeling process using menus and UI windows, it is difficult to assign correct physical attributes of planets. We use Python script to set up each planet's astronomical parameters. The proposed simulator is rendered as real as possible to be used for virtual reality and educational purpose.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.691-699
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• 2018

Astronomical positioning has been carried out from the past by using Sextant. The St. Hilaire method was mainly used by Nautical Almanac and Sight Reduction Tables For Marine Navigation. In modern times, it has been able to use the LOP(Line of Position) method smoothly by combining with IT technology. However, in comparison with the past method, the LOP method always shows two positions, True Position and False Position, which must be distinguished by the navigator. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed a method of using the azimuth to remove the false position generated by the LOP method. In particular, the theoretical considerations using azimuth are presented in various ways, and the validity of the theoretical considerations is confirmed. Simulations are presented to confirm that the theoretical basis of the thesis is valid.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.211-220
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• 2000

Korea Astronomy Observatory(KAO) is working to retrofit its 1m robotic telescope in collaboration with a company (ACE, Astronomical Consultants & Equipment). The telescope system is being totally refurbished to make a fully automatic telescope which can operate in both interactive and fully autonomous robotic modes. Progress has been made in design and manufacturing of the telescope mount, mechanics, and optical performance system tests are being made for re-configured primary and secondary mirrors. The optical system is designed to collect 80% incident light within 0.5 arcsec with f/7.5 Ritchey-Chretien design. The telescope mount is an equatorial fork with a friction drive system. The design allows fully programmable tracking speeds with typical range of 15 arcsec/sec with accuracy of $\pm5$ arcsec/hour. The mount system has integral pointing model software to correct for refraction, and all mechanical errors and misalignments. The pointing model will permit positioning to better than 30 arcsec RMS within $75^{\circ}$ from zenith and 45 arcsec RMS elsewhere on the sky. The software is designed for interactive, remote and robotic modes of operation. In interactive and remote mode the user can manually enter coordinates or retrieve them from a computer file. In robotic mode the telescope controller downloads the coordinates in the order determined by the scheduler. The telescope will be equipped with a CCD camera and will be accessible via the internet.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.207-214
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• 2018

A coelostat is often used for solar observations, because it corrects the image rotation automatically by guiding sunlight into a fixed telescope with two plane mirrors. For the purposes of education and spectroscopic observation, the solar group at Seoul National University (SNU) plans to develop the SNU coelostat (SNUC) and install it in the SNU Astronomical Observatory (SAO). Requirements of the SNUC are < 1" positioning accuracy with 30 cm beam size on the entrance pupil in the compact dome. To allow for installation in the small dome, we design a compact slope type coelostat with a 45 cm primary plane mirror and a 39 cm secondary plane mirror. The motion of the SNUC is minimized by fixing the position of the slope frame. Numerical simulations of the available observational time of the designed coelostat shows that the sun can be observed ay all times from June to early August and at least three hours in other months. Since the high accuracy driving motors installed in the SNUC can be affected by external environment factors such as humidity and temperature variations, we design a prototype to test the significance of these effects. The prototype consists of a 20 cm primary plane mirror, a 1 m slope rail, a direct drive motor, a ballscrew, a linear motion guide, an AC servo motor, a reduction gear and a linear encoder. We plan to control and test the accuracy of the prototype with varying atmospheric conditions in early 2019. After testing the prototype, the SNUC will be manufactured and installed in SAO by 2020.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.333-344
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• 2011

An optical tracking system has advantages for observing geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites relatively over other types of observation system. Regular surveying for unidentified space objects with the optical tracking system can be an early warning tool for the safety of five Korean active GEO satellites. Two strategies of positioning on the observed image of Communication, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite 1 are tested and compared. Photometric method has a half root mean square error against streak method. Also eccentricity method for initial orbit determination (IOD) is tested with simulation data and real observation data. Under 10 minutes observation time interval, eccentricity method shows relatively better IOD results than the other time interval. For follow-up observation of unidentified space objects, at least two consecutive observations are needed in 5 minutes to determine orbit for geosynchronous orbit space objects.

• Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.11-22
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• 2022

We introduce the Transformable Reflective Telescope (TRT) kit that applies an aluminum profile as a base plate for precise, stable, and lightweight optical system. It has been utilized for optical surface measurements, developing alignment and baffle systems, observing celestial objects, and various educational purposes through Research & Education projects. We upgraded the TRT kit using the aluminum profile and truss and isogrid structures for a high-end optical test device that can be used for prototyping of precision telescopes or satellite optical systems. Thanks to the substantial aluminum profile and lightweight design, mechanical deformation by self-weight is reduced to maximum 67.5 ㎛, which is an acceptable misalignment error compared to its tolerance limits. From the analysis results of non-linear vibration simulations, we have verified that the kit survives in harsh vibration environments. The primary mirror and secondary mirror modules are precisely aligned within 50 ㎛ positioning error using the high accuracy surface finished aluminum profile and optomechanical parts. The cross laser module helps to align the secondary mirror to fine-tune the optical system. The TRT kit with the precision aluminum mirror guarantees high quality optical performance of 5.53 ㎛ Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) at the field center.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2000

Far-ultraviolet IMaging Spectrograph(FIMS) is the main payload of the first Korean scientific satellite, KAISTSTA-4, which will be launched in 2002. The optical system of FIMS consists of parabolic cylinder mirror, slit, ellipsoidal reflection grating, and MCP to get spatial information as well as spectral information. Allowed ranges of manufacturing and positioning error are derived for each optical components to achieve the astronomical goals. In the procedure, graphical simplification is dedicated to understand sensitivity table and to derive range and precision of manipulation for each optical component. The result shows that precision of ${\mu}m$ for linear and of 2' for angular manipulation fulfills optical requirements.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Navigation and Port Research Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.181-184
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• 2006

Knowledge of the ionospheric peak parameter foF2 (the critical frequency of F2 layer) is one of key essential factors for predicting ionospheric characteristics and delay correction of satellite positioning. However, the foF2 was almost estimated using an empirical model of International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) or other expensive observing techniques, such as ionosondes and scatter radar. In this paper, the ionospheric peak parameter foF2 is the first observed by ground-based GPS with all weather, low-cost and near real time properties. Compared with the IRI-2001 and independent ionosondes at or near the GPS receiver stations, the foF2 obtained from ground-based GPS is in better agreement, but closer to the ionosonde. However, during nighttime, the IRI model overestimated the GPS observed values during winter and equinox months.Furthermore, seasonal variation trend of the foF2 in 2003 is studied using foF2 monthly median hourly data measured over South Korea. It has shown that the systematic diurnal changes of foF2 are apparent in each season and the higher values of foF2 are observed during the equinoxes (semiannual anomaly) as well as in mid-daytime of each season.