Scalable and Controllable Fabrication Process for Membrane Mirrors

Abstract

With the future need of larger telescopes, membrane mirrors are an option to create large-scale reflectors needed for space base observation at a lower cost than conventionally made mirrors. Proposed methods of how membrane mirrors have been put into place with ideas such as Dr. Chris Walker’s inflatable spherical telescope and the L’Garde Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE). With data from L’Garde, Dr. Aden Meinel presented the curvature of a membrane mirror does not produce a spherical curvature. From there a look into what sort of aberrations that curvature produces and attempts to correcting it or processing it to other benefits by altering the material. Procedures will be done on a small-scale in a process that can be applied to larger-scale systems.