Charles C Atkinson

US Patent:

20050141108, Jun 30, 2005

Filed:

Sep 6, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/948287

Inventors:

Charles Atkinson - Redondo Beach CA, US
Larry Gilman - Inglewood CA, US

International Classification:

G02B007/02

US Classification:

359820000

Abstract:

A large, deployable space telescope () includes an optical system element () and a support structure () supporting the optical system element. The support structure is formed of a composite material () of boron and carbon fibers in a plastic resin matrix. The composite support structure has a net coefficient of thermal expansion within 0.1 ppm/K at temperatures below 75K which enables diffraction limited performance of the telescope under cryogenic operational temperature variations.

US Patent:

62261215, May 1, 2001

Filed:

Mar 16, 2000

Appl. No.:

9/526759

Inventors:

Charles B. Atkinson - Redondo Beach CA
Nelson W. Wallace - Woodland Hills CA
James E. Klein - Glendale CA

Assignee:

TRW Inc. - Redondo Beach CA

International Classification:

G02B 2300

US Classification:

359399

Abstract:

A large, low cost and high quality optical telescope system (1) includes a segmented primary mirror (2) having a plurality of spherical mirror segments (3) arranged in a non-spherical shape (4), a parabolic shape in the disclosed embodiment, so that the rays incident upon the individual spherical mirror segments stay separated at an exit pupil (5) of the system, allowing for correction of aberrations. A discontinuous pupil corrector in the form of a segmented mirror (7) having a plurality of aspheric correction terms in it, is located at the exit pupil for correction of aberrations introduced from respective ones of the plurality of spherical mirror segments of the primary mirror. The discontinuous pupil corrector preferably is a segmented deformable mirror. The telescope system and related method can achieve diffraction limited performance for very large systems. The disclosed embodiment is a 35 meter aperture, deployable space telescope system.