Abstract
As a key technology in future earth observation and astronomical missions, a large-scale lightweight mirror constructed of silicon carbide-based material has been studied at JAXA. Silicon carbide was selected as the most promising candidate due to excellent characteristics of high specific stiffness and low CTE. One of the most important technical issues for large-scale ceramic components is quality stability (viz. differing in material property depending on part and processing) that might influence thermal and/or structural reliability due to unforeseen deformation and breakage. In this study, a propositional approach for the quality assurance technique of a practical flight mirror was examined, in which coupon samples extracted from various parts of the surrounding area of a newly manufactured φ800mm mirror were put to evaluation for estimating basic physical characteristics and homogeneity.
