Deployable primary mirror for space telescopes

Mark S. Lake; James E. Phelps; Jack E. Dyer; David A. Caudle; Anthony Tam; Javier Escobedo-Torres; Eldon P. Kasl

doi:10.1117/12.367611

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29 October 1999 Deployable primary mirror for space telescopes

Mark S. Lake, James E. Phelps, Jack E. Dyer, David A. Caudle, Anthony Tam, Javier Escobedo-Torres, Eldon P. Kasl

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Proceedings Volume 3785, Advanced Telescope Design, Fabrication, and Control; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.367611
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1999, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

NASA Langley Research Center, Composite Optics, Inc., and Nyma/ADF have developed jointly a deployable primary mirror for space telescopes that combines over five years of research on deployment of optical-precision structures and over ten years of development of fabrication techniques for optical-precision composite mirror panels and structures. The deployable mirror is directly applicable to a broad class of non-imaging `lidar' (light direction and ranging) telescopes whose figure-error requirements are in the range of one to ten microns RMS. Furthermore, the mirror design can be readily modified to accommodate imaging-quality reflector panels and active panel-alignment control mechanisms for application to imaging telescopes. The present paper: (1) describes the deployable mirror concept; (2) explains the status of the mirror development; and (3) provides some technical specifications for a 2.55-m- diameter, proof-of-concept mirror.

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Mark S. Lake, James E. Phelps, Jack E. Dyer, David A. Caudle, Anthony Tam, Javier Escobedo-Torres, and Eldon P. Kasl "Deployable primary mirror for space telescopes", Proc. SPIE 3785, Advanced Telescope Design, Fabrication, and Control, (29 October 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.367611

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