Active vibration control of large, optical space structures (Plenary Presentation)

In the late 1990’s, large, optical space structures were a hot topic. The astronomical community was planning the next big space telescopes after the success of the Hubble telescope, the Strategic Defense Initiative was exploring a Space-Based LASER for missile defense and other large, space telescopes were the subject of government and astronomical organizations. Common to all of these applications was the desire for a stiff telescope structure that had significant vibration damping. Since these two requirements are usually inversely related, the idea of incorporating smart structures using active damping and piezoceramic sensors and actuators became the subject of a large research effort at Air Force Research Lab—Advanced Composites with Embedded Sensors and Actuators.