LIGHT WEIGHT, SILICON CARBIDE, MULTICOLOR TELESCOPES FOR SATELLITE CONSTELLATIONS

SILICON CARBIDE CAN REPLACE TOXIC BERYLLIUM AS A MIRROR. LIGHT WEIGHT OPTICAL SUBSYSTEMS ARE SO IMPORTANT TO SATELLITE-BASED SENSOR CONCEPTS THAT NUMEROUS OPERATIONAL SYSTEM BASELINES IDENTIFY A HIGH-COST, SINGLE-SUPPLIER, TOXIC, MODERATELY STABLE OPTICAL/STRUCTURAL MATERIALS: BERYLLIUM. SILICON CARBIDE AS THE REPLACEMENT MATERIAL IS AN EMERGING TECHNOLGOY WHICH CAN REVOLUTIONIZE THE OPTICAL INDUSTRY. IT OFFERS THE STRENGTH: WEIGHT RATIO OF BERYLLIUM WITH THE IMAGING PERFORMANCE OF GLASS AT A COST LESS THAN ALUMINUM. THE SSG INNOVATION PUSHES THE SILICON CARBIDE OPTICAL AND TELESOPE FABRIATION TECHNOLOGIES INTO THOSE AREAS CRITICAL FOR BRILLIANT PEBBLES, BRILLIANT EYES, AND TACSAT/LITE SAT CONSTELLATION CONCEPTS: FINISHING/STABILITY/COATINGS FOR UV/VISIBLE LEVELS; LARGE SCALE PRODUCIBILITY; TRANSITION TO TELESCOPE ASSEMBLIES. THESE ACCOMPLISHMENTS WILL BE VERIFIED WITH MULTIPLE COPIES OF OPTICAL COMPONENTS AND COMPLETE TEESCOPES REPRESENTATIVE OF SATELLITE CONSTELLATION SYSTEM CONCEPTS.