The Single Aperture Large Telescope for Universe Studies (SALTUS) is a mission concept for a far-infrared observatory developed under the recent Astrophysics Probe Explorer opportunity from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The enabling element of the program is a 14-m diameter inflatable primary mirror, M1. Due to its importance to SALTUS and potentially other space observatories, we focus entirely on M1. We present a historical overview of inflatable systems, illustrating that M1 is the logical next step in the evolution of such systems. The process of design and manufacture is addressed. We examine how M1 performs in its environment in terms of the operating temperature, interaction with the solar wind, and shape change due to non-penetrating particles. We investigate the longevity of the inflatant in detail, show that it meets mission lifetime requirements with ample margin, and discuss the development and testing to realize the flight M1.

中文翻译：

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SALTUS 主反射器的设计、实现和性能


用于宇宙研究的单孔径大型望远镜（SALTUS）是在美国国家航空航天局最近的天体物理探测器探索机会下开发的远红外天文台的任务概念。该计划的启动元件是直径 14 米的充气主镜 M1。由于它对 SALTUS 和其他潜在太空天文台的重要性，我们完全关注 M1。我们对充气系统进行了历史回顾，说明 M1 是此类系统发展的下一步逻辑。阐述了设计和制造的过程。我们研究了 M1 在其环境中的工作温度、与太阳风的相互作用以及非穿透粒子引起的形状变化方面的表现。我们详细研究了充气剂的寿命，表明它以充足的余量满足任务寿命要求，并讨论了实现 M1 飞行的开发和测试。