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Chapter 5 Robust Performance Tailoring with Tuning - SSL - MIT

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1.1 Space-Based Interferometry<br />

NASA’s Origins program is an on-going effort aimed at exploring both the nature<br />

of the universe and its inhabitants. The specific goals of the program are to answer<br />

questions about the origin of our universe and to search for other Earth-like plan-<br />

ets in nearby solar systems. The program consists of a family of missions that span<br />

over twenty years (Figure 1-1). The earliest telescopes, including the Hubble Space<br />

Telescope (HST), are in operation and provide valuable information to scientists and<br />

astronomers at the time of this writing. Upcoming missions include SIM, JWST,<br />

and TPF (interferometer and coronograph). All three of these missions have ambi-<br />

tious science goals that push the boundaries of engineering across many disciplines,<br />

including optics, structures and control.<br />

Figure 1-1: Timeline of Origins missions [3].<br />

1.1.1 Astrometry and Imaging<br />

In order to achieve the first of Origins’ goals, mapping the universe and exploring its<br />

origins, a telescope <strong>with</strong> very high angular resolution is necessary. Angular resolution<br />

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