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Grinding Away on the LSST Mirror Blank

Friday, July 10, 2009

The Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory has completed the rough abrasive grinding of the 8.4-meter LSST M1/M3 mirror back surface (left). Technician Leslie Utley (right) carefully inspects the back surface of the monolithic mirror blank for imperfections. The back surface will undergo polishing over the next several weeks. Support hardware will then be bonded to the back surface and the mirror carefully turned so optical polishing of the front surface can begin later this year. PDF

Image Credit: 
LSST

Financial support for Rubin Observatory comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Cooperative Agreement No. 1258333, the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515, and private funding raised by the LSST Corporation. The NSF-funded Rubin Observatory Project Office for construction was established as an operating center under management of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).  The DOE-funded effort to build the Rubin Observatory LSST Camera (LSSTCam) is managed by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC).
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.
NSF and DOE will continue to support Rubin Observatory in its Operations phase. They will also provide support for scientific research with LSST data.   




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