Takes about a year to grind one.
I bet.
Thank this organization for the technology. Itās amazing what they did with black budgets that only a handful in congress got to screw with.
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This is not true. The LBT large mirror technology was pioneered at the U of A starting in the eighties. So was the mount and mirror support system.
Buddyā¦ the NROs work predates the 80s. We were looking down before you knew it. The mirrors needed to be ground such that in zero G they would be perfect. The telescopes looking up simply utilized the technology that was initially funded for the telescopes looking down. The astronomy community could not have afforded to fund that technology to the level that it was funded. National defense dollars, however, and black ones at thatā¦could. If you were involved with the design of those telescopes, Iām really surprised you donāt know this.
Not with the same technology as large ground based systems. Different animal.
Keep in mind the mirrors are different.
Mirrors for scopes arenāt a lensā¦but grinning tech Iām sure is similar.
Also not just mirrors/lens but computerizing those imagines. Now Iām getting above my pay grade.
Space based are also reflectors.
Spy satellites?
Againā¦ the nro dropped film into the atmosphere. Then they stopped. How did they get the imagery after they stopped dropping film?
And how did they fix the bad mirrors on the hubble?
Same people. And the companies that were part of the development of telescopes looking down.
But Iām just offering some information. Take it or leave it.
Of course.
Exactly. We have to focus a 20 ton mirror IN gravity with an active system. Very different from how the space telescopes work. Also, the U of A mirror lab cast some of the largest mirrors on the planet.
Iām not taking anything away from U of A. But if you want to know how U of A got a head start, read this.
You obviously didnāt know. By the way. In the article note that 1) mention of the āAir Forceā was really the NRO, and 2) that āsurplusā they mention was designed in the 60s. And the NRO never stopped improving. Spin-off went to telescopes looking upā¦ all the differences notwithstanding.
The smaller ones were designed for space. The large ground based ones were designed and perfected at the U of A. The systems needed to use these huge mirrors in the ground are different than space based ones.
Smartā¦very smart.
Happy Kwanza .
Amazing pictures!
