SUMMARY

The Keck observatory atop Mt. Mauna Kea is the largest terrestrial telescope in the world. It benefits from two decades of significant innovations in primary mirror technology that has enabled an aperture size of 10 m. Spaced-based telescopes have several advantages over terrestrial telescopes. Such as a completely open field of view and the ability to train on a single object for an extended time frame. Space-based telescopes are also unhindered by atmospheric disturbances. Even, so the same advances realized in terrestrial telescopes have not all been realized in space-based telescopes. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the primary initiative at this time to bridge the gap between space-based and terrestrial telescopes. It will be much larger (6.5 m primary mirror) and lighter in weight than the Hubble Space Telescope (1.4 m primary mirror). Despite its size and unobstructed view, the Keck telescopes will still represent a viable competitor to the JWST. To achieve further improvement in space-based telescopes an additional reduction of the mass per unit of mirror surface area and advances in portability are necessary. In addition the optical shape (figure) of the new mirror must be maintained under new structural conditions. To address these needs, research teams at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Florida, the National Reconnaissance Organization , Xinetics, and NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory have collaborated on varying aspects of a new deformable mirror technology. Specifically, this research studies the feasibility of a thin-shell deformable mirror with an adaptive-truss for spaced-base telescopes. At this time, there is a limited body of work discussing thin-shell mirrors supported by an adaptive truss. This study represents the culmination of simulations performed by Georgia Tech in which it is concluded that it is possible to maintain the figure of a thin-shell deformable mirror supported by an adaptive truss.