The fabrication of very large optical telescopes for space astronomy can be prohibitively costly due to the immense weight and size of monolithic primary mirrors. The cost of these telescopes can be reduced by the use of a segmented primary mirror. The next generation of large segmented mirrors… More

A well known problem in the fabrication of aspheric optical surfaces lies in surface irregularities inherent in the figuring process. Low-spatial frequency errors (figure errors) cause distortion in the system wavefront, resulting in degradation of the point spread function. Mid-spatial frequency… More

The International X-Ray observatory (IXO) is due to be launched in 2021. The core of the instrument is a very large (3.2 meter diameter) Wolter I optic, to be assembled from approximately 13,000 individual elements. Each element will, in turn, be created by 'slumping' glass over a precision… More