The thermal regime of the special space-based lunar telescope STL-200 for monitoring variations of the global albedo of the earth from the earthshine of the moon

Abstract

This paper discusses the thermal regime of the special lunar telescope STL-200, installed on the Russian segment of the International Space Station and intended for monitoring the global albedo of the earth by recording the power of the radiation flux of the earthshine of the moon. An analysis of the proposed thermomechanical layout of the telescope showed that, when it operates with observation cycles lasting 30 min with an interval of 60 min, small thermally induced deviations of the position of the focal plane from the nominal position—a factor of 40 less than the allowable value—occur in the course of all sixteen successive observation sessions. It is shown that the power consumption of the system for ensuring the thermal regime can be economized by optimizing the telescope’s operating cyclogram.