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Manufacturing the JWST was already extremely challenging. Not saying we can't do bigger, but payload size isn't the only limiting factor.
by digging 3y ago
Manufacturing the JWST was already extremely challenging. Not saying we can't do bigger, but payload size isn't the only limiting factor.
- sebzim4500 3y agoManufacturing the JWST would be a lot easier if it weren't for the mass/volume constraints.
- digging 3y agoPerhaps, because of all the moving parts. How big is Starship though? I don't expect a telescope bigger than JWST could go up completely unfolded and expect to be perfectly resilient to launch forces. In addition, even if we had the option of a solid mirror, manufacturing such a massive mirror to perfect smoothness would be a feat. Piecemeal mirrors are probably easier in some ways because if one section is flawed, it can be replaced.
- cubefox 3y agoA Google search reveals: Starship has an 8 meter internal diameter. The Hubble mirror was 2.4 meters. The largest ground telescopes with a single mirror are somewhat over 8 meters in diameter. Though these don't have to withstand a rocket launch. JWST has a 6.5 meter segmented mirror with 1.3 meter per segment. It was folded up to fit into the Ariane 5 fairing.