ELT M5 Mirror Support Cell — Precision Space Mechanism by SENER
Description
SENER Aeroespacial is a Spanish aerospace engineering company, part of the SENER Group, providing high-precision mechanisms, optical systems, and space structures for ESA, NASA, and international space missions. SENER was selected by ESO (European Southern Observatory) to design and manufacture the M5 (fifth mirror) support cell for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) — the world's largest optical telescope currently under construction in Chile's Atacama Desert. The M5 mirror (4 x 2.7 m elliptical, largest of the ELT's optical path mirrors) is supported by the SENER-designed cell which enables fast tip-tilt corrections at 3 Hz to compensate atmospheric turbulence. SENER also designed and built the Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM) for the Mars Express orbiter, the antenna pointing mechanism for the INTEGRAL gamma-ray observatory, and the solar wing for NASA's Solar Orbiter. In the Earth observation domain, SENER provides reaction wheel assemblies, cryo-coolers, and thermal hardware for Sentinel satellites under ESA's Copernicus program. The company operates from its Tres Cantos (Madrid) headquarters and employs over 600 engineers dedicated to space projects across navigation, science, and defense.