Mount Hopkins, AZ
Smithsonian Institution, Multiple Mirror Telescope
Scope/Solutions
With the advent of economical large spun cast mirrors, the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona wished to convert the Multiple Mirror Telescope (MMT) to a telescope with a single 6.5 m dia. mirror to retain its position as one of the world’s most powerful instruments. SGH developed the drawings and specifications for this modification.
Highlights of SGH’s work on this project include the following:
- Developed conversion concepts and the final designs of the new Optics Support Structure (OSS) and mirror cell structure
- Designed a system that allows for in-place aluminizing of the primary mirror by lifting in a vacuum head and using the mirror cell as the bottom part of vacuum chamber
- Designed the required modifications to the rotating observatory building to accommodate the larger OSS
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Project Summary
1995
Completion Date
Solutions
New Construction
Services
Advanced Analysis
Markets
Science & Defense
Client(s)
Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Key team members
Additional Projects
West
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Energy Systems Integration Facility
With a growing need for clean energy, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) embarked on an initiative called Energy Systems Integration to promote research and improve these technologies. SGH commissioned the building enclosure systems.
Large Millimeter Telescope
Located at 15,000 ft on top of the Sierra Negra in central Mexico, the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) is a fully-steerable, 50 m dia. radio telescope used for astronomy at millimeter wave lengths.