Structural design for deployable optical telescopes

Many future space missions will require the deployment of space-based telescopes with large (greater than 4 m) effective apertures and with surface accuracy of better than 0.1 micron RMS. Current systems are limited not only by the physical size of the launch vehicle shroud, but also by the quality and alignment of the system after incurring stresses induced by launch. The Air Force Research Laboratory's UltraLITE program is a multifaceted program designed to develop viable deployable telescopes for space missions. As part of this program, the first ever deployable telescope is being fabricated as part of a ground demonstration. This paper discusses the development and fabrication of the structure for this telescope, an effort that resulted in a unique structural configuration, the first of its kind ever developed.