[petschge]

> It seems possible to launch multiple small telescopes and operate them as one large scope using aperture synthesis. I don't know if there are any existing designs or plans for this.

We know how to do that in radio (VLBI), have some experience in IR (ALMA), are doing research on how to do that in optical. But in practice that is much harder than you think. The relative distances of the telescopes have to be known and constant to within a few fractions of the wavelength you are using. Hard when you are using centimeter radiowaves, insanely hard with optical light that has 600 nanometers wavelength.

[bkloppenborg]

We've been doing optical interferometry for quite some time. Homodyne techniques (see facilities, CHARA, VLTI, COAST, NPOI, SUSI) in which the light is interfered with itself are quite common. Heterodyne methods (one facility, ISI) in which the incoming light is mixed with a stable laser and downconverted to longer wavelengths are uncommon though.

[bufferoverflow]

Launch a bunch of small telescopes, connect them with a rigid structure. Keep it shaded. Shouldn't be impossible. And with no gravity and no atmosphere, even a light structure will keep it all positioned very precisely.