Corning Watch: Space exploration tradition continues

After others had tried and failed, Corning Inc. in the 1930s created the largest telescope mirror blank in history.

The 200-inch primary mirror for the Hale Telescope on Mt. Palomar in California was made from the same Pyrex glass used in millions of American kitchens.

It remained the largest telescope in the world until Corning Inc. manufactured a 326.77 inch (8.3 meter) mirror for the Subaru telescope in 1993.

So it comes as no surprise that Corning Inc., which has spent more than 80 years designing and building telescope mirrors, has agreed to make and donate the primary mirror blank for a next-generation space telescope planned by a private company.

The 1.8 meter (70.866 inch) mirror blank, valued at $1.8 million, was donated to the BoldlyGo Institute of New York City. The privately financed organization plans to launch its Astro-1 ultraviolet spectroscopy telescope in the mid-2020s. The cost is estimated at $500 million or more.

The organization is led by Jon Morse, its chief executive officer. Morse is former director of astrophysics at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Morse says Astro-1 is intended as a smaller and lighter successor to the Hubble Space Telescope — whose primary mirror was also made by Corning Inc.

"Astro-1 is a space telescope that is meant for the era beyond the Hubble telescope," Morse said. "Hubble has a finite lifetime, towards the end of this decade or so before its capabilities will be severely degraded."

The new telescope will study planets around nearby stars and the structure of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies.

For Astro-1, Corning Inc. is donating six lightweight core segments of its patented ultra-low expansion titanium glass. The parts are located at the company plant in Canton, N.Y., where Corning's telescope mirror blanks are made.

Polishing and finishing of the Corning mirror will be done at Exelis Inc. in Rochester. The company has been involved with space telescopes for 50 years.

Corning's previous contributions to telescope science have aided the discovery of planetary systems orbiting nearby stars and have made possible detailed photographs of galaxies 13 billion light years away from Earth.

So while NASA is downsizing its space exploration and space science efforts, Corning Inc. has decided to help at least one new organization take up the slack.

The Corning Watch column offers analysis of news involving Corning Inc. Contact Larry Wilson in care of Star-Gazette, P.O. Box 285, Elmira, NY 14902; or by email at ldwilson2278@gmail.com.