What does origami have to do with space telescopes? An excerpt from the Damn Interesting post:
However, this was only the beginning: the project called for the lens to be 100 meters in diameter. Though space vehicles vary in design they all have similar limited payload space, 4 meters in diameter and 100 10 meters long. The lens would have to somehow fit in this narrow compartment shaft to be launched into space. This is where Dr. Robert Lang entered the picture. The Diffractive Optics Group contacted Dr. Lang and requested a visit. After examining the problem, Lang explored various origami designs that could be applied to the lens. It became evident that through a limited number of collapsible facets, the size of the lens could be reduced with origami folds while maintaining the integrity of the surface once expanded in space.
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