Mirror, Developmental Test

This is a partially coated honeycomb mirror built to test and to illustrate construction methods for ultra-light weight space-borne mirrors. It was acquired for the collection to illustrate how space mirrors like the HST mirror are surfaced with aluminum to make them reflective. It is half mirrored to display the internal structure. The ultra-thin design of this sample indicates that it is of far more recent vintage than the HST mirror itself, which is rather bulky by present standards. Its square grid pattern indicates also that it may not be as advanced a design as the most recent examples, which tend to employ even more efficient triangular patterns.The model was donated to NASM in 2001 by the Precision Optics Division of Eastman Kodak. It is now on display in the Explore the Universe gallery.