Corning to Make Mirror for LSST

Corning Inc. of Corning, N.Y., has announced that it will manufacture the secondary mirror substrate for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The 8.4-m LSST, a ground-based facility expected to see first light from Cerro Pachón, Chile, in 2014, will produce a panoramic digital movie as it surveys the entire visible sky every week with its 3,200-megapixel camera. The mirror will be manufactured in Corning’s Canton, N.Y., facility and will be made from Corning ULE, a specialty glass known for its low thermal expansion properties. The process to manufacture the 3.47-m, 100-mm-thick ULE blank is extensive. Material selection and preparation for seal operations began in September 2008. Corning is on schedule to complete the mirror in late 2009. The new system will combine a wide field of view, rapid scans of the sky and deep-imaging capability to map billions of objects and monitor changes in brightness and position. Scientists, as well as casual observers with access to the Internet, can actively participate in LSST’s mission of mapping the structure of all matter in our dynamic universe.