This thesis will focus on the development and validation of advanced wavefront sensing and control strategies for future segmented aperture space telescopes. The work will build on the JPL IRIS testbed, a 1-meter segmented telescope platform equipped with laser metrology, rigid-body actuators, a deformable mirror, and phase-retrieval cameras. The student will investigate how real-time control algorithms can maintain optical alignment and reject broadband disturbances affecting segmented telescope optics. A key objective will be to combine laser-metrology-based pose estimation with image-based phase retrieval to improve wavefront stability.
The thesis may include modelling, calibration, control design, disturbance rejection analysis, and validation against experimental data. Particular attention will be given to the interaction between rigid-body control, deformable mirror compensation, and fault-tolerant autonomous wavefront sensing. The results will contribute to technologies needed for future high-contrast observatories, including the Habitable Worlds Observatory, whose goal is the direct characterization of Earth-like exoplanets.
