Monday, August 18, 2025

A 3D Printed Alumnium Mirror Could Enable Enhance CubeSat Observations

Engineering drawings of the prototype mirror, including installed in a 3U CubeSat frame. Credit- I. Aziz et al.

Compact, reflective, easy to manufacture mirrors are a critical component for advancing astronomical technology in space. Mirrors are a key component in most telescopes, though they are notoriously hard to manufacture with the necessary precision, especially at large scales. A new paper from researchers in the UK uses additive manufacturing to make a thin, flexible, and lightweight mirror out of aluminum and analyzes its properties to see if it will be useful in applications such as CubeSats.



No comments:

Post a Comment