> On Dec 21, 2021, at 10:57 AM, Laura R <[email protected]> wrote: > >> My question was removed from the original message, so I repeat it here: > > Is the Webb telescope connected in any way with the Eyeglass telescope that > Robert Lang helped develop at the turn of the century? > > From Robert’s answer to Larry Finch, it does not get clear to me whether > there is a connection/continuation/inspiration from the Eyeglass to the Webb > (even if it’s something totally different) and I would like to know. Reason > is because at the Museo del Origami I always talk about the Eyeglass (and > there is a picture of it with Robert posing in front) and would be cool to > say something like: “Despite the fact that the Eyeglass stayed in the > prototype stage, it inspired new projects like so an so…”
There’s no connection between JWST and Eyeglass that I know of. (Other than that I’ve talked about them both in the same presentation many times.) My initial understanding of Eyeglass was that a few years after my contribution (sometime after that photo was taken), the project ended, and the PIs went on to other projects (one left LLNL entirely for a startup). The uncertainty comes because several years later, I ran into a former laser colleague who was now fairly high up at LLNL and mentioned that I was sad that Eyeglass was dead, and he gave me a certain look and said “well, I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Now, he could have been just messin’ with me, but I know it initially had interest from DoD types who don’t sign in their names when they visit, so he might have been hinting at something like that. But I guess I’ll never know (cause if they told me then they’d have to kill me). There is, however, a connection from Eyeglass to StarShade. I developed a mathematical model for flashers for Eyeglass, and then much later adapted it for early versions of StarShade. (The StarShade team have since built further refinements into their model, but I think it’s still the same basic concept.) HTH, Robert
