Revolutionary Membrane Mirrors for Space Telescopes

Researchers have developed a new method to produce and shape large, high-quality mirrors that are much thinner than the primary mirrors previously used for telescopes deployed in space. The mirrors are flexible enough to be rolled up and stored compactly inside a launch vehicle. The researchers used chemical vapor deposition to grow membrane mirrors on a rotating liquid inside a vacuum chamber, which allowed them to form parabolic thin membranes that can be used as the primary mirror of a telescope once coated with a reflecting surface such as aluminum. The new membrane-based mirrors could also be used in adaptive optics systems.