The reasons are presented for the high performance of the Columbus Project Telescope whose design is based on two short focal mirrors, large drive and support radii, and a short load path to the ground. The radius squared is argued to be the most important tool for the inprovement of performance in the large optical telescopes, since the stiffness of the mechanics is proportional to the radius at which they act squared. The six Columbus telescope finite element models show that optimization of a structure depends more on the initial conditions (radius squared) than the truss shape or elements. It is concluded that future exploitation of radius squared could lead to higher performance for the very large telescope.

Date Published: 1 July 1990
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 1236, Advanced Technology Optical Telescopes IV, (1 July 1990); doi: 10.1117/12.19258

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1236:
Advanced Technology Optical Telescopes IV
Lawrence D. Barr, Editor(s)