Open Access
9 September 2024 Design, implementation, and performance of the primary reflector for SALTUS
Jonathan W. Arenberg, Leon K. Harding, Bob Chang, Steve Kuehn, Dave Oberg, Michaela N. Villarreal, Arthur L. Palisoc, Christopher K. Walker, Daewook Kim, Zach Lung, Dave Lung
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Abstract

The Single Aperture Large Telescope for Universe Studies (SALTUS) is a mission concept for a far-infrared observatory developed under the recent Astrophysics Probe Explorer opportunity from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The enabling element of the program is a 14-m diameter inflatable primary mirror, M1. Due to its importance to SALTUS and potentially other space observatories, we focus entirely on M1. We present a historical overview of inflatable systems, illustrating that M1 is the logical next step in the evolution of such systems. The process of design and manufacture is addressed. We examine how M1 performs in its environment in terms of the operating temperature, interaction with the solar wind, and shape change due to non-penetrating particles. We investigate the longevity of the inflatant in detail, show that it meets mission lifetime requirements with ample margin, and discuss the development and testing to realize the flight M1.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
Jonathan W. Arenberg, Leon K. Harding, Bob Chang, Steve Kuehn, Dave Oberg, Michaela N. Villarreal, Arthur L. Palisoc, Christopher K. Walker, Daewook Kim, Zach Lung, and Dave Lung "Design, implementation, and performance of the primary reflector for SALTUS," Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems 10(4), 042306 (9 September 2024). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JATIS.10.4.042306
Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 15 August 2024; Published: 9 September 2024
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Cited by 4 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Reflectors

Design

Particles

Data modeling

Optical surfaces

Tolerancing

Space operations

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