Using the ISS as a Testbed to Prepare for the Next Generation of Space-Based Telescopes
2012
The infrastructure available on the ISS provides a unique opportunity to develop the technologies necessary to assemble
large space telescopes. Assembling telescopes in space is a game-changing approach to space astronomy. Using the ISS
as a testbed enables a concentration of resources on reducing the technical risks associated with integrating the
technologies, such as laser metrology and wavefront sensing and control (WFSandC), with the robotic assembly of major
components including very light-weight primary and secondary mirrors and the alignment of the optical elements to a
diffraction-limited optical system in space. The capability to assemble the optical system and remove and replace
components via the existing ISS robotic systems such as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), or by the
ISS Flight Crew, allows for future experimentation as well as repair if necessary. In 2015, first light will be obtained by
the Optical Testbed and Integration on ISS eXperiment (OpTIIX), a small 1.5-meter optical telescope assembled on the
ISS. The primary objectives of OpTIIX include demonstrating telescope assembly technologies and end-to-end optical
system technologies that will advance future large optical telescopes.
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