A support method of large aperture light weighted primary mirror manufacturing and testing

Abstract

With the resolution of space optical remote sensor getting higher, the aperture of the primary mirror has been becoming larger correlatively. The requirement of the plane precision has also become higher. The manufacturing and testing of space optical remote sensor primary mirror should be under more critical status which is different from the mirror on the ground, especially for the primary mirror aperture that is larger than 1 m. This paper compares the differences of testing and manufacturing status between the primary mirror on space optical remote sensor and on the ground. A support method of large aperture primary mirror manufacturing and testing has been released, which is to carry out multiplediscrete support on the back of the mirror by controlling the support stress. The results indicates that this method could reduce the plane error of the primary mirror brought by its self weight effectively by finite element simulation when the mirror is being polishing, so as to satisfy the design and use requirement of the primary mirror.