U.S. military researchers have awarded a $7.9 million contract to Honeywell Aerospace Technologies for the second phase of the Zenith program. The program aims to develop a size-scalable liquid mirror for space and ground telescope applications. Liquid mirrors are created by spinning a shallow dish of reflective liquid to form a parabolic shape, which is ideal for focusing light.
The Zenith program seeks to create liquid mirrors that are tiltable, scalable, damage-resilient, and suitable for both space and ground telescopes. The first phase of the program focused on designing a scalable liquid mirror lens, while the second phase will demonstrate the design with an aperture size of 3 meters in diameter and out-of-plane tip and tilt angles of greater than 25 degrees.
Liquid mirror telescopes are easier to build, less expensive, and more damage-resistant than traditional glass telescopes. The Zenith program is developing the necessary tools and controls to demonstrate a 2-meter-diameter liquid mirror telescope and a 1-meter diameter segmented liquid mirror.
If successful, the program could result in liquid mirrors and liquid mirror telescopes for astronomy that behave like traditional telescopes but at significantly larger aperture sizes. The work on the contract is expected to be completed by November 2026, with locations in Avon, N.Y.; Des Plaines, Ill.; Atlanta; Phoenix; and in Cambridge and Ottawa, Ontario. For more information on the Zenith program, visit Honeywell Aerospace Technologies or DARPA online.
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