Fast Optimization Design of the Flexure for a Space Mirror Based on Mesh Deformation

According to the requirements of high force-thermal stability and high performance of a space telescope, a space mirror assembly must not be influenced by environmental factors. In this study, a space mirror assembly under load conditions, such as gravity, thermal, and assembly error, is considered. After the mirror is optimized, the surface shape error is reduced by 22%, and the mass is increased by 0.113 kg. In order to improve the efficiency of integration optimization, we present a fast optimization method using mesh deformation to be applied to the flexure. The size parameters of flexure and axial mount position are obtained by optimization. With our method, the single optimization time reduces from 10 min to 40 s, which can improve the efficiency of multi-objective optimization. The mirror assembly is fabricated and assembled based on optimization results. Finite element analysis (FEA) and test results for the space mirror assembly confirm the validity and feasibility of the fast optimization method, and we believe that the flexure based on fast optimization meets the requirements of a space mirror assembly for space applications.