A scalable rigidized inflatable reflector system for next-generation far-infrared space telescopes

Inflatable membrane reflectors offer a compelling pathway to realizing large-aperture optical systems for far-infrared and millimeter-wave astronomy. Compared with mechanically deployed reflectors, membrane-based systems provide exceptional advantages in mass efficiency, stowage volume, scalability, and structural simplicity. Our work introduces a novel, instrumentation-driven approach that directly addresses these historical limitations. Central to this approach is an optical architecture that pairs an inflatable primary membrane mirror with precision-machined corrective surfaces, enabling compensation for low-order membrane aberrations and improved far-IR wavefront quality. These innovations are being implemented and validated on a 3-meter prototype reflector, which serves as a critical testbed for understanding inflation behavior, tension-load paths, rigidization performance, and metrology-informed surface correction strategies.