Nautilus Space Observatory: a very large aperture space telescope constellation enabled by scalable optical manufacturing technologies

Dániel Apai; Tom D. Milster; Daewook Kim; Youngsik Kim; Glenn Schneider; Benjamin V. Rackham; Jonathan Arenberg; Heejoo Choi; Marcos A. Esparza; Zichan Wang; Yingying Zhang; Alex Bixel

doi:10.1117/12.2633184

3 October 2022 Nautilus Space Observatory: a very large aperture space telescope constellation enabled by scalable optical manufacturing technologies

Dániel Apai, Tom D. Milster, Daewook Kim, Youngsik Kim, Glenn Schneider, Benjamin V. Rackham, Jonathan Arenberg, Heejoo Choi, Marcos A. Esparza, Zichan Wang, Yingying Zhang, Alex Bixel

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12221, Optical Manufacturing and Testing XIV; 122210C (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2633184
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2022, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We describe progress on the Nautilus Space Observatory concept that is enabled by novel, very large (8.5mdiameter), ultralight-weight, multi-order diffractive lenses that can be cost-effectively replicated. The scientific goal of Nautilus is the rigorous statistical exploration of one thousand potentially life-bearing planets and the assessment of the diversity of exo-earths. Here we review the science requirements and key design features of Nautilus. The new optical technology (MODE lenses) at the heart of the Nautilus telescopes also poses exciting new optical fabrication and metrology challenges. We will summarize these challenges and provide an overview of emerging solutions.

Conference Presentation

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Dániel Apai, Tom D. Milster, Daewook Kim, Youngsik Kim, Glenn Schneider, Benjamin V. Rackham, Jonathan Arenberg, Heejoo Choi, Marcos A. Esparza, Zichan Wang, Yingying Zhang, and Alex Bixel "Nautilus Space Observatory: a very large aperture space telescope constellation enabled by scalable optical manufacturing technologies", Proc. SPIE 12221, Optical Manufacturing and Testing XIV, 122210C (3 October 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2633184

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