Beryllium Optical and Structural Components
materion
Materion's space-grade beryllium mirrors, optical benches, and structural components used in space telescopes, Earth observation sensors, and infrared instruments.
Typed specifications1 values
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- Material (as printed)
- Beryllium (density 1.85 g/cm³, modulus 287 GPa) product page
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As published by the supplier6 lines, in the manufacturer's own wording
- Key material
- Beryllium (density 1.85 g/cm³, modulus 287 GPa)
- Products
- Mirror blanks, optical benches, scan mirrors, structural components
- Notable programs
- James Webb Space Telescope primary mirror segments (all 18), GOES weather satellite scan mirrors
- Key properties
- Ultra-low density, 6× stiffer than Al, excellent cryogenic stability
- Jwst contribution
- Manufactured and polished all 18 hexagonal primary mirror segments
- HQ
- Mayfield Heights, Ohio, USA
About
Materion Corporation (formerly Brush Engineered Materials) is the world’s primary supplier of beryllium metal, beryllium alloys, and beryllium oxide ceramics for defense, nuclear, and space applications. Beryllium is uniquely valuable for space optics and structures due to its exceptional combination of properties: extremely low density (1.85 g/cm³ — lighter than aluminum), very high stiffness (elastic modulus 287 GPa — 6× stiffer than aluminum), high specific heat, and excellent dimensional stability over a wide temperature range.
Materion manufactures polished beryllium mirrors for space telescopes, Earth observation sensors, and infrared instruments. The James Webb Space Telescope’s 18 primary mirror segments (each 1.32 m across) are made from beryllium — selected because JWST operates at 40 K cryogenic temperature and beryllium’s thermal expansion coefficient at those temperatures is extremely small and predictable. Materion manufactured and polished the JWST mirror segments.
For Earth observation sensors, Materion supplies beryllium scan mirrors for NOAA weather satellites (GOES-R series), which must scan the Earth’s disk every 5–15 minutes with milliradian pointing accuracy. Beryllium’s stiffness-to-weight ratio makes it the only material able to achieve the required scan rates without vibration-induced pointing errors. Materion is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.