MOIRE completes PDR

Ball Aerospace has announced that its Membrane Optic Imager Real-Time Exploitation (MOIRE) programme has successfully completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and is ready to move into the next phase of development. The MOIRE system is being developed under a contract to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

The MOIRE programme is focused on incrementally demonstrating technologies needed to develop a large, lightweight geosynchronous space-based telescope using advanced diffractive optics membrane to provide persistent, real-time, tactical video to the war fighter. In the PDR, concluded on 30 August 2011, Ball Aerospace demonstrated the ability to create a diffracted optical element (DOE) on a membrane, showing an 80 centimetre diameter, 32.5 meter focal length imaging DOE.  This component is typical of what would be used for a 5 meter diameter telescope. 

Ultimately, the system is envisioned to use multiple membranes to form a collection aperture that is 20 meters in diameter. MOIRE seeks to validate the manufacturability of large membranes, large structures to hold the optics tight and flat, and also demonstrate the secondary optical elements needed to turn a diffraction based optic (such as photon sieve) into a wide, bandwidth imaging device.

Ball Aerospace will now continue with phase two of the programme, which will see a sub-aperture section of a 5 meter diameter demonstration telescope designed and built. Five additional risk-reduction options in phase two of the programme will be addressed prior to Ball building a flight demonstration.