Control of thermal deformations of a thin hexagonal spherical mirror segment using discrete and distributed actuators is presented. To determine the effectiveness of the actuators in controlling the thermal deformations of the mirror segment, a comparative study is conducted using two different models of the mirror‐ actuator system: 1) the mirror mounted on kinematic supports and controlled by piezoelectric strips bonded to the rear surface of themirrorand 2 )themirrormounted on force actuators, which are used to supportthemirroraswell as to control the surface deformations of the mirror. The performance of evenly distributed strips and that of strips placed at near-optimal locations obtained using heuristic integer programming are also compared. Both the force actuators and the piezoelectric strips are found to be equally effective in controlling the surface deformations of the mirror. A major drawback of the force actuators is the increase in the overall weight of the system, which is undesirable for space applications. On the other hand, the piezoelectric strips are very lightweight, and hence a large number of such strips can be used to control the surface distortions of the mirror, without imposing a weight penalty. The piezoelectric strips appear to be promising candidates for static shape control of e exible structures in space. Nomenclature b = side of graphite/epoxy plate, m d33 = piezoelectric strain constant, m/V E = root mean square error of the mirror surface distortions f j = control inputs (force applied to the force actuators or the voltage applied to the piezoelectric strips ) h = thickness of graphite/epoxy plate, m m = number of nodes of the e nite element model n = number of force actuators or piezoelectric strips u = correction to the transverse displacement W = middee ection of graphite/epoxy plate, m a ij = ine uence coefe cients w = deformed shape (transverse displacement) of the mirror