A 1.2-meter prototype Dual Anamorphic Reflector Telescope (DART) system has been built and tested. The key design feature of the telescope is a pair of membrane mirrors stretched to single curvature parabolic cylindrical sections. The parabolic figure of the mirrors is controlled by a pair of edge rails at two opposing ends of the membrane. The flexible edge rails are adjusted to parabolic to very high accuracy and can potentially be easily refigured on-orbit. The prototype telescope is lightweight and has demonstrated excellent optical performance for the farIR. The design is readily scalable to larger apertures and for operation at shorter wavelengths. Design and test results are discussed.

Date Published: 18 December 2002
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 4849, Highly Innovative Space Telescope Concepts, (18 December 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.460454

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4849:
Highly Innovative Space Telescope Concepts
Howard A. MacEwen, Editor(s)