Structureless Space Telescope® (SST) for Science Applications (27 pages, 2008)
– 30-meter diameter optical telescope using extensions of current technology
– 88 free-floating mirrors controlled in orbit and attitude in all 3 axes by light pressure from a set of Control Lasers
– System is relatively near-term — i.e., GEO demonstration mission with 10-meter diameter in 5.5 years from ATP and 30-meter Operational System in 8.5 years from ATP
– Estimated total cost ~ $2.7 billion
• Includes NRE, ground testing, LEO Demos, GEO Demo/Back-Up mission, Operational System development (1 FOV), build, test, launch, ground segment, and the first year of operations.
$30 million would validate the concepts and get the components up to a suitable technological readiness.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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