Patent ID: 7428098

Claim:
A telescope, comprising: a primary mirror including a plurality of mirror elements for focusing and reflecting electromagnetic radiation; at least one secondary mirror for receiving the focused and reflected electromagnetic radiation from the primary mirror and reflecting the electromagnetic radiation; and at least one focal plane array for receiving the focused and reflected electromagnetic radiation from the at least one secondary mirror; wherein the plurality of mirror elements, the at least one secondary mirror and the at least one focal plane array are coordinated and controlled without a physical structure connecting the plurality of mirror elements; and further comprising a laser control system to control the plurality of primary mirror elements wherein each primary mirror element has a plurality of control surfaces by which the element may be moved, and wherein light pressure from at least one laser is used to control the plurality of mirror elements by selectively firing at selected control surfaces on the plurality of mirror elements; wherein the at least one laser includes multiple lasers that are effective to maintain mirror orientation and position to within a fraction of the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation; and wherein the multiple lasers are positioned on separate platforms to provide controllable force to selected front and rear faces of selected multiple control surfaces on each mirror element.