A turnkey observatory with 6.5-m telescope has been developed for a broad range of science applications. The observatory includes the telescope, mount and enclosure, installed on site and ready for operation. The telescope’s primary mirror is an f/1.25 honeycomb sandwich of borosilicate glass, similar to that of the MMT and Magellan telescopes. The baseline optical design is for a Gregorian Nasmyth focus at f/11. A Gregorian adaptive optics secondary that provides a wide-field focus corrected for ground layer turbulence (0.25 arcsecond images over a 4 arcminute field) as well as a narrow-field diffraction-limited focus is optional. Another option is a corrected f/5 focus with a 1° field. The observatory, built by partners from academia and industry with extensive experience, can be delivered within five years at a fixed price.
M3 is a full-discipline architecture, engineering and construction management firm hired by TMT International Observatory to design and manage the construction of several aspects of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The TMT is a next-generation extremely large telescope that is approaching its start of construction. While the TMT continues to consider construction at the originally proposed site on Maunakea, Hawaii, the project is ensuring viability while addressing challenges at its baseline site through establishing an alternate design for facilities at Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) on the island of La Palma, Spain. With both locations actively being developed in parallel and with a similar scheduled start of construction in mind, this paper offers an overview and insight into how and why TMT and M3 established a practical design for the Canary Islands, how it differs from the design at Maunakea, and discusses the legal processes followed to establish access to a suitable site in La Palma.
Proc. SPIE. 9906, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VI
KEYWORDS: Observatories, Observatories, Telescopes, Telescopes, Mirrors, Data modeling, Control systems, 3D modeling, Space telescopes, Space telescopes, Optical instrument design, Optical instrument design, Camera shutters, Systems modeling
The Instituto de Astronomia of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) along with Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica, the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory are developing the Telescopio San Pedro Mártir (TSPM) project, a 6.5m diameter optical telescope. M3 Engineering and Technology Corp. (M3) is the design and construction management firm responsible for all site infrastructure, enclosure and support facilities. The Telescopio San Pedro Mártir project (TSPM) will be located within the San Pedro Mártir National Park in Baja California, Mexico at 2,830 m. above sea level, approximately 65 km. east of the Pacific Ocean, 55km west of the Sea of Cortes (Gulf of California) and 180km south of the United States and México border. The aim of the paper is to present the preliminary design of the site infrastructure, enclosure and support facilities to date and share the design and construction approach.
The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), one of several next generation Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), is a 25.4 meter diameter altitude over azimuth design set to be built at the summit of Cerro Campanas at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. This paper provides an update and overview of the ongoing efforts for the GMT site, infrastructure, facilities and enclosure design. The paper provides insight of the proposed systems, trade studies and approach resulting in the current design solution.
Proc. SPIE. 9145, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes V
KEYWORDS: Observatories, Telescopes, Data modeling, 3D modeling, Space telescopes, Computer aided design, Document management, Systems modeling, Process modeling, Solid modeling
The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), one of several next generation Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), is a 25.4 meter diameter altitude over azimuth design set to be built at the summit of Cerro Campánas at the Las Campánas Observatory in Chile. The paper describes the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the GMT project.
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