Cost Scaling Laws Applicable To Very Large Optical Telescopes

Aden B. Meinel

doi:10.1117/12.957059

3 May 1979 Cost Scaling Laws Applicable To Very Large Optical Telescopes

Aden B. Meinel

Proceedings Volume 0172, Instrumentation in Astronomy III; (1979) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.957059
Event: Instrumentation in Astronomy, 1979, Tucson, United States

Abstract

Cost and weight data for optical and radio telescopes are analysed to derive scaling laws appropriate to the design and costing of very large telescopes of the future. A scaling law exponent close to the 2.0 power of aperture diameter is found for telescopes of comparable sophistication ranging from a 0.4 m to 5.0 m aperture, in contrast to the often cited 2.7 exponent. Predicted characteristics for a 25-meter aperture steerable dish NGT are 5x10⁶ kg, 20 $/kg and a total cost of 1.3x10⁸$.

Citation Download Citation

Aden B. Meinel "Cost Scaling Laws Applicable To Very Large Optical Telescopes", Proc. SPIE 0172, Instrumentation in Astronomy III, (3 May 1979); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.957059

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