The agreement will see the company produce critical mirrors for the Extremely Large Telescope’s (ELT) advanced adaptive optics system, reinforcing KiwiStar Optics’ position as one of the southern hemisphere’s leading manufacturers of high-precision optical technologies.
Currently under construction at Cerro Paranal in northern Chile by the European Southern Observatory, the ELT is expected to become the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope when it enters service in the early 2030s.
The observatory is designed to produce images more than six times sharper than those captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, providing astronomers with an unprecedented view of the universe.
A key challenge for ground-based observatories is overcoming atmospheric distortion, which blurs incoming light from distant celestial objects. To counter this, the ELT will employ a sophisticated adaptive optics system known as MORFEO (Multiconjugate adaptive Optics Relay For ELT Observations), capable of correcting atmospheric interference in real time to deliver exceptionally clear observations.
KiwiStar Optics has been selected to manufacture two of MORFEO’s most technically demanding mirrors under a contract awarded through Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), which leads the MORFEO program.
The company will work alongside Italian engineering specialist A.D.S. International, responsible for developing the mirrors’ precision mechanical support systems.
The contract was secured following a highly competitive international tender.
“The MORFEO Consortium is confident that the collaboration between KiwiStar Optics and A.D.S. will enable the supply of optics with the required precision,” said Dr Paolo Ciliegi, MORFEO principal investigator at INAF.
“Their decades of experience in high-precision optomechanics are a guarantee of the successful delivery of these components, enabling MORFEO to ensure the required performance for decades to come.”
The project will require KiwiStar Optics to manufacture two highly specialised mirrors measuring approximately 1.23 metres and 1.27 metres in diameter. Each mirror incorporates an exceptionally complex non-spherical surface that must be produced to tolerances measured in just tens of nanometres.
According to A.D.S. International president and chief executive officer Dr Daniele Gallieni, the partnership represents an important milestone for both companies.
“Securing this MORFEO contract is a strategic milestone for A.D.S. within the Extremely Large Telescope program,” he said.
“I am confident that this successful partnership with KiwiStar Optics will extend to future programs, leveraging the synergy between the complementary capabilities of our two companies.”
The 43-month program encompasses the manufacture of the mirrors, development of bespoke optical testing equipment, and final integration and validation alongside the precision support structures developed by A.D.S. International.
KiwiStar Optics chief technology officer Dr Andrew Rakich said the contract highlighted the company’s world-class manufacturing capability.
“To put the precision required into perspective, if one of these mirrors was scaled to the length of New Zealand, the largest imperfections across the surface would measure only a few tens of millimetres,” Dr Rakich said.
“This contract is recognition of the extraordinary expertise within the KiwiStar team and the strategic investments made since EOS acquired the business in 2022.
“KiwiStar Optics is making important contributions to some of the world’s most advanced scientific instruments, strengthening its reputation as the southern hemisphere’s leading precision optical manufacturer.”
The latest contract continues a period of strong international success for KiwiStar Optics following several significant astronomy and advanced optics projects.
These include another multimillion-euro agreement to develop a precision Echelle spectrograph for the Polish Academy of Sciences’ telescope, as well as the delivery of a critical adaptive optics test component for Japan’s Subaru Telescope.
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