Lightweight athermal SLMS innovative telescope

This paper discusses the design, manufacture and cryogenic testing of a Lightweight Athermal SLMS Innovative Telescope (LASIT) under a Schafer funded Internal REsearch and Development program. The 25 cm aperture, 10X magnification LASIT is of Cassegrain design with structural components manufactured from carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide (Cesic), while the primary mirror uses silicon lightweight mirror system (SLMS) technology. A fourteen pound, dimensionally stable telescope is the result. LASIT cryogenic testing will be performed at NASA/MSFC under Schafer's Space Act Agreement later this year.