Active mirrors for future space telescopes

John Steeves; David Redding; James K. Wallace; Charles Lawrence; Todd Gaier; Randall Bartman; Raef Mikhail; Jeff Cavaco; John Vayda

doi:10.1117/12.2312645

10 July 2018 Active mirrors for future space telescopes

John Steeves, David Redding, James K. Wallace, Charles Lawrence, Todd Gaier, Randall Bartman, Raef Mikhail, Jeff Cavaco, John Vayda

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10706, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation III; 1070615 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312645
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

The demanding science goals of future astrophysics missions currently under study for the 2020 Decadal Survey impose significant technological requirements on their associated telescopes. These concepts currently call for apertures as large as 15 m (LUVOIR), and operational temperatures as low as 4 Kelvin (OST). Advanced mirror technologies, such as those implementing a high degree of actuation at the primary, can help to overcome the challenges associated with these missions by providing in-situ wavefront correction capabilities. Active mirrors can also greatly reduce the cost/complexity associated with mirror fabrication as well as system I and T as on-orbit performance specifications can be achieved under a variety of test conditions (i.e. room/cryogenic temperatures, 0g/1g). JPL has significant experience in this area for visible/near-infrared applications, however future mission requirements create a new set of challenges for this technology. This paper presents design, analysis, and test results for lightweight silicon-carbide mirrors with integrated actuation capabilities. In particular, studies have been performed to test the performance of these mirrors at cryogenic temperatures.

Citation Download Citation

John Steeves, David Redding, James K. Wallace, Charles Lawrence, Todd Gaier, Randall Bartman, Raef Mikhail, Jeff Cavaco, and John Vayda "Active mirrors for future space telescopes", Proc. SPIE 10706, Advances in Optical and Mechanical Technologies for Telescopes and Instrumentation III, 1070615 (10 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312645

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