Space optical instrumentation: more than 10 years of unique know-how
Mersen Boostec designs and makes:
- monolithic parts up to:
- 1,25 m in diameter for circular parts
- 1,70 x 1,20 x 0,60 m for rectangular parts
- braze-assembled SiC parts up to:
- 3,5 m in diameter.
Mersen Boostec's know-how also extends to structural bonding and bolting techniques for assembling SiC parts together or with parts made of other materials.
Mersen Boostec is involved in several public and private programmes in space optics, ground telescopes and large instruments:
- Herschel: space telescope launched in 2009 with a primary mirror measuring 3.5 m in diameter (the largest in space), made up of 12 sintered silicon carbide segments assembled by brazing.
- Gaia: ESA global astrometry mission (European Space Agency), launched in December 2013.
- Sentinel 2: ESA optical imagery mission: 2 satellites equipped with high resolution multispectral instrument.