The next generation of space telescopes will need to meet increasingly challenging science goals. For these new systems to meet resolution goals, the collecting area of the primary mirror will need to be increased. However, current space telescope designs are reaching their limits in terms of size and mass. Therefore, new systems will need to include technologies such as lightweight mirrors, segmented or sparse apertures and active optical control. Many of these technologies have no flight heritage, so determining what combinations of technologies will create favorable designs requires detailed modeling and analysis. This thesis examines the design of a lightweight mirror for an advanced space telescope for both dynamic performance and shape control. A parametric model of a rib-stiffened mirror is created in order to quickly analyze many different mirror geometries. This model is used to examine the homogeneous dynamics of the mirror to determine what geometry will maximize the ratio of stiffness to areal density. The mirror model is then used in a full dynamic disturbance-to-performance analysis so that system performance can be examined as a function of changes in the mirror geometry.
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