MakerBot Helps Prototype SPIDER Telescope

You may have heard of the SPIDER, or the Segmented Planar Imaging Detector for Electro-optical Reconnaissance. Researchers at Lockheed Martin have been working on it for several years, since being commissioned by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build a lightweight space telescope that could deliver the same powerful results as its larger, heavier counterparts with only a fraction of the bulk. To meet the requirements, the team at the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (ATC) had to rethink telescopes completely - with some help from their assortment of MakerBot 3D printers. Read more at 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/167053/makerbot-spider-telescope/

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