Significant optical engineering advances at the University of Arizona are being made for design, fabrication, and construction of next generation astronomical telescopes. This summary review paper focuses on the technological advances in three key areas. First is the optical fabrication technique used for constructing next-generation telescope mirrors. Advances in ground-based telescope control and instrumentation comprise the second area of development. This includes active alignment of the laser truss-based Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) prime focus camera, the new MOBIUS modular cross-dispersion spectroscopy unit used at the prime focal plane of the LBT, and topological pupil segment optimization. Lastly, future space telescope concepts and enabling technologies are discussed. Among these, the Nautilus space observatory requires challenging alignment of segmented multi-order diffractive elements. The OASIS terahertz space telescope presents unique challenges for characterizing the inflatable primary mirror, and the Hyperion space telescope pushes the limits of high spectral resolution, far-UV spectroscopy. The Coronagraphic Debris and Exoplanet Exploring Pioneer (CDEEP) is a Small Satellite (SmallSat) mission concept for high-contrast imaging of circumstellar disks and exoplanets using vector vortex coronagraph. These advances in optical engineering technologies will help mankind to probe, explore, and understand the scientific beauty of our universe.

This study introduces an advanced dual-mode compound attitude control framework for reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), underpinned by an enhanced particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. This innovative strategy is tailored to meet the stringent demands for precision and robust anti-interference capabilities across the entire flight envelope of RLVs. The research commences with the formulation of a comprehensive attitude dynamics model and diverse heterogeneous actuator representations, meticulously crafted to reflect the distinct phases of RLV flight. Building upon this foundation, a synergistic control paradigm is engineered, integrating PID and fuzzy PID controllers and dynamically adjusting the inertia weights and learning factors of the PSO algorithm to achieve the balance between global and local optimization performance, complemented by a refined fitness evaluation function. The crux of the study is the application of an upgraded PSO algorithm to fine-tune the controllers’ weighting coefficients, culminating in an optimized dual-mode compound attitude control system. A series of comparative simulation analyses are thoroughly executed to appraise the system’s responsiveness, stability, precision, and resilience to interference. The simulation outcomes demonstrate an average reduction of 42.21% in step response overshoot, an 18.52% decrease in settling time, a 53.18% decline in steady-state error, a 56.80% drop in the maximum deviation value, a 55.82% improvement in recovery speed, and a 75.61% enhancement in tracking precision for the proposed controller. The findings clearly verify the superior performance of the proposed control system, affirming its contribution to the advancement of RLV attitude control. The proposed controller holds promising potential for real application in attitude control systems and is poised to augment the reliability and mission success rate of RLVs under intricate flight scenarios.

This study introduces an advanced dual-mode composite attitude control framework for reusable launch vehicles (RLVs), underpinned by an enhanced particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. This innovative strategy is tailored to meet the stringent demands for precision and robust anti-interference capabilities across the entire flight envelope of RLVs. The research commences with the formulation of a comprehensive attitude dynamics model and diverse heterogeneous actuator representations, meticulously crafted to reflect the distinct phases of RLV flight. Building upon this foundation, a synergistic control paradigm is engineered, integrating PID and fuzzy PID controllers, complemented by a refined fitness evaluation function. The crux of the study is the application of an upgraded PSO algorithm to fine-tune the controllers' weighting coefficients, culminating in an optimized dual-mode composite attitude control system. A series of comparative simulation analyses are meticulously executed to appraise the system's responsiveness, stability, precision, and resilience to interference. The findings unequivocally substantiate the superior performance of the proposed control system, affirming its substantial contribution to the advancement of RLV attitude control.