An aerospace mirror having a reaction bonded (RB) silicon carbide (SiC) mirror substrate, and a SiC cladding on the RB SiC mirror substrate forming an optical surface on a front side of the aerospace mirror. A method for manufacturing an aerospace mirror comprising obtaining a green mirror preform comprising porous carbon, silicon carbide, or both, the green mirror preform defining a front side of the aerospace mirror and a back side of the aerospace mirror; removing material from the green mirror preform to form support ribs on the back side; infiltrating the green mirror preform with silicon to create a reaction bonded SiC mirror substrate; forming a mounting interface surface on the back side of the aerospace mirror from the RB SiC mirror substrate, and forming a reflector surface of the RB SiC mirror substrate on the front side of the aerospace mirror.
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