Light Weight Concepts for Mirrors

In this NASA Phase II STTR program Powdermet/Northwestern will fabricate a lightweight (2.4 g/cc, or equivalent to 0.8 kg/m2) thin-wall (0.3-0.5mm ) functional mirror with an angular resolution approaching one arc second. Phase I results demonstrated a composite mirror structure with a density a factor of two lower than the solid nickel with high strength , low CTE, and good optical figure. The Phase II program is designed to develop manufacturing procedures for large (10 cm dia x 50 cm high) Wolter I mirror structures, and to generate detailed structure/property design for use with X-ray/space telescopes. Through a teaming arrangement with Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace, design studies will be carried out on appropriate satellite configuration and integration design schemes, and basic studies will evaluate the new technology relative to existing applications, while identifying very near term applications/components for prototype demonstration purposes.