Patent ID: 8167247

Claim:
A space-based occulter, selectively movable between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration, the occulter comprising: a base hub having a longitudinally oriented center axis; a plurality of petals, each petal extending radially outward from, and spaced radially apart from, the base hub when in the deployed configuration, each petal having a hypergaussian edge made up of a plurality of hypergaussian edge panels, each hypergaussian edge panel defining a portion of the hypergaussian edge of the petal, and each hypergaussian edge panel being made substantially of a material having a near zero coefficient of thermal expansion; a circular central portion located radially between the base hub and the plurality of petals; and a covering skin extending laterally between the hypergaussian edges of each petal and over the circular central portion, the covering skin defining a substantially planar surface oriented substantially perpendicular to the center axis when the occulter is in the deployed configuration.