FalconSAT-7: A CubeSat Deployable Solar Telescope

The United States Air Force Academy's Department of Physics is building FalconSAT-7, a membrane solar telescope. The primary optic is a photon sieve -- a diffractive element consisting of billions of tiny holes in a polymer sheet. Due for launch in 2015, FalconSAT-7 will serve as a pathfinder for future missions in lightweight, high-resolution, space-based surveillance.