Prospects for low-cost mechanically deployed optical and infrared spacecraft instruments

Recent technological developments in the micromechanics of deployed structures has lead to the potential for low-cost deployment of large reflectors and trusses for orbiting telescopes and interferometers. This paper reviews these results and examines their implications for the system design of future space science and Earth observing systems. It is shown that the micromechanics of such structures can be used to passively position and stabilize their geometry to within approximately a micron of precision. The implication is that it may be possible to deploy infrared diffraction limited optics without the need for adaptive adjustment.