Large Deployable Telescopes for Future Space Observatories

摘要

As with ground based observatories, future space observatories will require increasingly large apertures in order to address the latest questions concerning the nature of our universe and the origin of the galaxies, stars, planets and life itself. Nearly a dozen 8-m to 10-m telescopes are currently in operation on the ground, and designs are being developed for telescopes with apertures 30, 50, and even 100 meters in diameter. Space-based telescopes will inevitably follow this trend in order to take advantage of their freedom from atmospheric effects, diurnal thermal cycling, and limits on their field of regard. The apertures of space telescopes are limited by the size of launch vehicle's payload fairings, however; so segmented deployable optics are currently required for telescopes with apertures larger than approximately 4-meters. This paper discusses the current state-of-the-art and future prospects for large deployable telescopes in space.