High-Bandwidth, Extended Linearity, Reaction-Cancelled, High-Surface-Figure-Accuracy Fast-Steering Mirror for Future MDA Missions

Jitter suppression and image stabilization require an increasing number of technological improvements as vehicles become unmanned, more agile and work in more hostile environments. Fast steering mirrors (FSM) play an important supporting role in providing a quiet operating platform. LHDC has contributed a number of FSM for space platforms and plans to enhance performance of future products in four primary areas: 1) bandwidth, 2) surface figure accuracy over temperature, 3) highly linear operation and 4) low residual reaction torques. Higher bandwidth improves disturbance rejection and low residual reaction torque maintains a quiet optical bench during acquisition, tracking, and pointing, however aggressive the position and acceleration commands may be. Image quality and pointing accuracy are maintained over the wider operating temperature ranges. Inventory hardware is to be used to achieve an unusual amount of progress. This SBIR program is primed to lead into product development that will benefit a wide variety of MDA applications.