Scientists build ultralight space telescope

Telescopes of the future will require larger apertures to gather more light than the existing Hubble Space Telescope. The challenge to designers is to create mirrors of larger apertures that can withstand the rigors of a space-shuttle launch and meet the restrictions on size and mass. In a step toward meeting this need, scientists at the Optical Sciences Center and Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ), have built and tested an ultralightweight mirror designed for use in geosynchronous Earth-imaging (see figure).