SIC LIGHTWEIGHT TELESCOPE AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

SIC IS EMERGING AS A SERIOUS ALTERNATIVE TO BERYLLIUM FOR SPACEBORNE, LIGHTWEIGHT TELESCOPE APPLICATIONS DUE TO THE INHERENT MATERIAL PROPERTIES AND RECENT FABRICATION AND REPLICATION PROCESSING ADVANCES.SIC OFFERS THE STIFFNESS AND WEIGHT ADVANTAGES OF BERYLLIUM AND THERMAL PROPERTIES COMPARABLE TO LOW EXPANSION GLASSES, BUT AT COST PROJECTED SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN BERYLLIUM. TO DATE, LIMITED EFFORTS HAVE BEEN EXPANDED TO UTILIZE THE RECENT SIC MATERIAL ADVANCES IN A TELESCOPE ASSEMBLY INCLUDING MIRRORS, STRUCTURE, AND MOUNTS. THE CORE INNOVATION PROPOSED IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LIGHTWEIGHT SIC BASED TELESCOPE IN A "FLYABLE" CONFIGURATION BASED ON A SPACEBORNE APPLICATION (I.E., ASAT, ERIS, GBI, HEDI, OR SCALED GSTS) AND TESTED FOR THERMAL/CRYOGENIC PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY, STRAYLIGHT REJECTION, ENVIRONMENTAL LOADS AND POSSIBLE NUCLEAR EXPOSURE. PHASE I WILL INCLUDE A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE LIGHTWEIGHT TELESCOPE AND THE FABRICATION AND CRYOGENIC TEST OF A REPRESENTATIVE SIC MIRROR (NOMINALLY 4 INCHES). CVD INC. IS SUPPLYINGTHE -SIC SUBSTRATE AT NOT COST TO THE PROGRAM. SSG WILL FIGURE AND POLISH THE MIRROR AND PERFORM CRYO TESTING AT AN EXISTING FACILITY. PHASE II WILL BE THE DETAIL DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND TELESCOPE LEVEL TESTING.