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takyon writes:

A report has favored a simpler design for China's next large space telescope:

China's astronomers are united in wanting a world-class giant optical telescope, one that would serve notice that they are ready to compete on the global stage. But a squabble has opened up over the telescope's design. On one side is an established engineering team, led by a veteran optics expert responsible for the nation's largest existing telescope, that is eager to push ahead with an ambitious design. On the other are astronomers reveling in a grassroots priority-setting exercise—unprecedented for China—who have doubts about the ambitious design and favor something simpler.

Now, a panel of international experts has reviewed the designs and come out squarely in favor of the simpler proposal, according to a copy of the review obtained by Science. But the conclusion has not ended what one Chinese astronomer calls "an epic battle" between the high-ranking engineers accustomed to top-down control over projects and the nascent grassroots movement.

Features on the wishlist include a total of four mirrors, one primary and three secondary:

[...] In most large telescopes, a large primary mirror captures light and reflects it off one or two secondary mirrors to the telescope's instruments. The daring NIAOT design calls for four mirrors—one primary and three secondary. The fourth mirror allows for exquisite control of the streams of photons so that they fall almost perpendicular to the instrument's focal plane, ensuring "very good image quality," [optics specialist Xiangqun] Cui says. She adds that, because the TMT and other telescopes would eventually surpass the LOT's sensitivity, the NIAOT design needed to provide a wide field of view that would enable the telescope to act as a spotter for the bigger scopes. "This is a new century, we need new optical systems," Cui says.

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