Affordable Precursor Flight Experiment for Ultra Lightweight Mirror Technologies

As a follow-on to the spectacular success of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), NASA is currently conducting pre-phase A studies of an even larger aperture telescope, called NGST (Next Generation Space Telescope), that will continue the phenomenal flow of astrophysical discoveries well into the next millennium. Because of the very large aperture required, current NGST concepts have been driven to elaborate schemes of foldable ultra thin and ultra light mirror segment systems that can be deployed on orbit. Due to the complexity of these optical systems, it is imperative that adequate demonstration experiments be flown to verify these new technology concepts before committing to the final design and implementation of the NGST. This paper presents a proposal for a very simple, inexpensive Hitchhiker flight experiment that will determine gravity release effects on very thin mirror segments made from current competitive materials. These experiments will provide the initial data that will be needed before more extensive demonstration flights of the NGST system can be flown.