KiwiStar Optics secures contract for world’s largest optical telescope project

Wellington, New Zealand – 3 July 2026 – KiwiStar Optics, an Electro Optic Systems (EOS) company, has secured a multi-million Euro contract to manufacture critical optical components for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) - set to become the world’s largest optical and infrared telescope.

Currently under construction in Paranal, Chile, the ELT is being developed by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The telescope, to be completed in the early 2030’s, will be the largest optical-infrared telescope ever made and is expected to deliver images more than six times sharper than those produced by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

To enable the maximum potential optical resolution to be achieved by large ground-based telescopes, blurring of stellar images caused by atmospheric turbulence must be corrected in real time. Modern astronomical telescopes employ “adaptive optics systems” to provide such correction. On ELT, the MORFEO adaptive optics relay provides this correction.

The contract has been awarded through the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), which is overseeing the MORFEO program. KiwiStar Optics will partner with A.D.S International, responsible for the precision mechanical mirror support systems. Kiwistar Optics won the manufacturing contract in a highly competitive bidding process.

“The MORFEO Consortium is confident that the collaboration between KiwiStar Optics and ADS will enable the supply of optics with the required precision. 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,” said Dr Paolo Ciliegi, MORFEO Principal Investigator, Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).

Under the contract, KiwiStar Optics will manufacture two very precise mirrors for MORFEO. The two mirrors - measuring approximately 1230 mm and 1270 mm in diameter – require specific highly complex non-spherical surfaces manufactured to tolerances measured in mere tens of nanometres.

“Securing this MORFEO contract is a strategic milestone for ADS within the Extremely Large Telescope programme. I am confident that this successful partnership with KiwiStar Optics will extend to future programmes, leveraging the synergy between the complementary capabilities of our two companies,” said Dr Daniele Gallieni, President and CEO, A.D.S. International Srl.

The 43-month project will include the manufacture of the mirrors, development of specialised optical testing systems, and integration and testing with A.D.S-developed support structures.

“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,” said KiwiStar Optics CTO, Dr Andrew Rakich.

“This contract is recognition of the extraordinary expertise within the KiwiStar team and the strategic investments made since EOS acquired the business in 2022,” Dr Rakich said.

“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 MORFEO contract follows several recent international astronomy and optics program wins for KiwiStar Optics, including another multi-million Euro contract to produce a precision planet-finding Echelle Spectrograph for Poland’s Academy of Sciences Telescope and a core adaptive optics test component for Japan’s Subaru Telescope.

This news article first appeared on the KiwiStar Optics website. Image credit: ESO