Overview and status of the Giant Magellan Telescope project

James Fanson; Patrick J. McCarthy; Rebecca Bernstein; George Angeli; David Ashby; Bruce Bigelow; Antonin Bouchez; William Burgett; Eric Chauvin; Adam Contos; Francisco Figueroa; Peter Gray; Frank Groark; Robert Laskin; Rafael Millan-Gabet; Andrew Rakich; Rodrigo Sandoval; Marti Pi; Nune Wheeler

doi:10.1117/12.2313340

6 July 2018 Overview and status of the Giant Magellan Telescope project

James Fanson, Patrick J. McCarthy, Rebecca Bernstein, George Angeli, David Ashby, Bruce Bigelow, Antonin Bouchez, William Burgett, Eric Chauvin, Adam Contos, Francisco Figueroa, Peter Gray, Frank Groark, Robert Laskin, Rafael Millan-Gabet, Andrew Rakich, Rodrigo Sandoval, Marti Pi, Nune Wheeler

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10700, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VII; 1070012 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313340
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2018, Austin, Texas, United States

Abstract

The Giant Magellan Telescope project is proceeding with design, fabrication, and site construction. The first of the seven required 8.4-m primary mirror segments is completed and in storage, three segments are in various stages of grinding and polishing, and the fifth segment has been cast. Industry contracts are underway to complete the design of the telescope structure. Residence buildings and other facilities needed to support construction at the Las Campanas site in Chile are complete. Hard rock excavation is imminent in preparation for the pouring of concrete for the telescope pier and other foundations. Computational fluid dynamics analysis is informing the design of the telescope enclosure, and further construction work packages are being readied for tender. Seismic design considerations have resulted in the incorporation of a seismic isolation system into the telescope pier, as well as modifications to the primary mirror support system. Designs for the fast-steering and adaptive secondary mirrors, science instruments, and other subsystems are maturing. Prototyping is underway in various aspects, including on-sky testing of wavefront sensing and control elements, and the telescope metrology system. Our fabrication and construction schedule calls for engineering first light with a subset of primary mirror segments in late 2023, with buildout to the full configuration occurring in stages, paced by the availability of primary mirror segments and other components.

Conference Presentation

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James Fanson, Patrick J. McCarthy, Rebecca Bernstein, George Angeli, David Ashby, Bruce Bigelow, Antonin Bouchez, William Burgett, Eric Chauvin, Adam Contos, Francisco Figueroa, Peter Gray, Frank Groark, Robert Laskin, Rafael Millan-Gabet, Andrew Rakich, Rodrigo Sandoval, Marti Pi, and Nune Wheeler "Overview and status of the Giant Magellan Telescope project", Proc. SPIE 10700, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VII, 1070012 (6 July 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313340

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