Design of the optical bench for the DORA telescope

Payloads miniaturization is the design rule in space-born applications and the development of space telescopes is not an exception. The research in the space field is pushing the development of deployable telescopes since the compactness of such configuration is translated into lower costs for the mission and consequently into more flight opportunities. In this framework, the goal of the paper is the development of the DORA telescope (Deployable Optics for Remote sensing Application), a project in collaboration with some Italian research institutes aiming to design space telescopes for minisatellites. The work focuses on the structural design of the main interface of the telescope, finding a compromise between the lightness and the mechanical stiffness of the designed solution. The trade-off should be assured by providing the required mechanical resistance against the expected loading at the payload launch and in the working conditions. The proposed solution satisfies the imposed requirements by limiting the allocated mass of the structural component to about 10% of the payload mass budget.