November 12, 2018 - It looked a lot like a space ship before it was wrapped for shipping, but it’s actually a very earth-bound piece of cargo: the Coating Chamber for the mirrors of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). The Coating Chamber arrived on the summit of Cerro Pachón in Chile on November 11, 2018, and is now positioned on the service floor of the LSST summit facility building. The Coating Chamber and its associated equipment will share this level with the camera maintenance rooms, the vertical platform lift, and the shipping and receiving area. The Coating Chamber will be used to coat LSST’s mirrors when they arrive on Cerro Pachón, and to re-coat the mirrors periodically during Operations.

LSST will conduct a 10-year survey, and during this period its mirrors will be exposed to the elements each night as the telescope surveys the sky through the open side of the observatory dome. Over time the mirrors will get dusty, and the mirror coatings may develop small blemishes that eventually affect the telescope’s performance. To ensure that LSST continues to collect the sharpest possible images of the night sky, its mirrors will undergo periodic washing and recoating. It’s anticipated that the Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) will need to be recoated every two years, and the Secondary Mirror (M2) every five years, during the 10-year survey. Both the washing and recoating will be done inside the observatory; special equipment will be used to remove and transport the mirrors from the telescope to the washing station and coating chamber.

The 128-ton LSST Coating Chamber was constructed by Von Ardenne in Deggendorf, Germany. After final acceptance in June, 2018, Von Ardenne prepared the Coating Chamber for shipping, working closely with Michael Logue, Principal Surveyor for LSST. Logue is responsible for getting all the critical pieces of LSST safely to the summit of Cerro Pachón, and this is no simple task; LSST’s components have been under construction in factories and labs all across Europe and the U.S.

The Coating Chamber was loaded onto a river barge called the Modena on July 30, 2018. Despite challenges posed by low water levels on the Danube River, the barge arrived safely in Antwerp on August 14. Then, early in the morning on September 7, a heavy-duty mobile shore crane lifted the Coating Chamber aboard a ship named the BBC Arizona. The cargo then spent about six weeks at sea, traveling through the Panama Canal to reach Chile.

As Logue points out, getting large cargo items to Chile by sea is actually the “easy” part. The challenges multiply when it’s time to transport them from the dock at their arrival port to the summit of Cerro Pachón. After arriving at the Port of Coquimbo Terminal in Chile on October 23rd, it was divided into two parts, upper and lower, and transported by Javier Cortés, S.A. in specialized trucks from Coquimbo to the LSST summit facility on Cerro Pachón. The width of the cargo load was about 9 meters (29.5 feet), so this transport required cooperation between many parties to coordinate logistics, including the removal of hanging signs, utility cables, lights, etc. along the route. Local police provided an escort for the transport vehicles, and various administrative organizations assisted with road closures and permits to proceed. A map of the route is below.

One of the highlights of the trip was traveling through the Puclaro Tunnel, between La Serena and the AURA property gate. This tunnel has been a significant factor in the design of LSST; all of the telescope’s components must be able to fit—or must disassemble to fit—through the tunnel. The Coating Chamber’s halves are the widest pieces of LSST cargo that will pass through the tunnel, although not by much; the M1M3 Mirror in its transport box will be almost as wide a load. The attached photos show how little clearance the Coating Chamber had in the tunnel, but thanks to skilled operators and sound judgement from the LSST and Javier Cortés teams, the trucks passed through without incident.

The trucks carrying the Coating Chamber arrived on the summit of Cerro Pachón on Friday, November 9. Each truck was carefully backed down a sloping driveway to a roll-up door accessing the third level of the  LSST summit facility building, and the pieces of the Coating Chamber were unloaded and placed inside the building by a 60-ton crane.

According to Tomislav Vucina, LSST Coatings Engineer, "The LSST Coating Chamber will be the largest, most modern, and most powerful mirror coating mechanism used by any telescope in the world." Now that it has been successfully received on the summit of Cerro Pachón, it will undergo a six-month program of “assembly, integration, and commissioning,” which means that Vucina will oversee installation of all components of the Coating Plant, and the testing necessary to ensure that everything works the way it’s supposed to. After final acceptance, and after both LSST mirrors arrive, the Coating Chamber will be used to coat the Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) with aluminum, and the Secondary Mirror (M2) with silver.

LSST thanks everyone involved in the many stages of transport for making the Coating Chamber move a success.

More photos of the Coating Chamber during construction and shipping, and after its arrival in Chile, are available in the LSST Gallery.

View the press release for the arrival of the Coating Chamber on Cerro Pachón here.

PROJECT & SCIENCE NEWS - NOTICIAS DEL PROYECTO & CIENTIFICAS

A reminder: daylight saving time ended in the U.S. on Sunday, November 4th. The LSST Project uses Pacific Time as a standard, but Arizona clocks do not change, and Chile is on a different time change schedule. As a result, standing meeting times have changed for people in some locations but not others; please check with your meeting organizer to confirm the times for upcoming meetings.

The deadline for the Call for White Papers on LSST Cadence Optimization is less than a month away; white papers must be submitted by November 30, 2018. Click here for more information.

The LSST Coating Chamber arrived at the Port of Coquimbo, Chile, on October 23rd, ending a seven-week ocean voyage that began in Antwerp, Belgium. For four days after its arrival, the Coating Chamber was prepared, split into two pieces (top and bottom), and loaded onto specialized transport vehicles for the trip to the summit of Cerro Pachón. Photos are available in the LSST Gallery.

On the morning of October 25th, at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab on the University of Arizona campus, the LSST Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) was successfully lifted out of its transport container and onto the M1M3 Cell. Read more about this milestone and view a video of the lift in this recent news post.

The LSST Secondary Mirror (M2), which was recently completed in Rochester, NY, has begun its journey to Chile. The mirror and its associated components were loaded and secured onto three trailers on October 30th, and transported to the Port of Albany, NY. The trailers and cargo are currently in storage at the port, awaiting the arrival of theBBC Challenger, which is scheduled to arrive on November 11th. Photos of M2 traveling by truck from Rochester to Albany are available in the LSST Gallery.

The 50th Annual Meeting of the AAS Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) was held in Knoxville, TN, on October 21-26. The LSST Solar System Science Collaboration (SSSC) held a workshop at the meeting, attended by approximately 55 people, that included status updates on LSST Project and SSSC activities. A photo of the workshop is available in the LSST Gallery, and presentations are linked from this page.

LSST CORPORATION NEWS

The LSST Corporation held an Institutional and Executive Board Meeting in Tucson, AZ, on October 24-25. In attendance were approximately 25 Board Members, International Contributors, LSST Corporation and Project representatives, and other stakeholders. The two-day meeting included a Project update from LSST Director Steve Kahn and LSST Deputy Director Zeljko Ivezic, and a pre-operations and commissioning report from Acting LSST Operations Director Bob Blum. LSST Corporation mission-related updates and activities were presented that focused on LSST Operations and the Corporation’s Fund-Development Program.

PERSONNEL NEWS

Open positions available with LSST, including two Administrative Assistant positions, are listed at this link.

UPCOMING MEETINGS with LSST INVOLVEMENT 

(those with asterisk* are LSSTC funded): 

NOTICIAS DEL PROYECTO & CIENTIFICAS

Un recordatorio: el horario de verano terminó en Estados Unidos el domingo 4 de noviembre. El Proyecto LSST usa la Hora del Pacífico como estándar, pero los relojes de Arizona no cambian, y Chile está en un horario de cambio de hora diferente. Como resultado, los tiempos de reuniónes permanentes han cambiado para las personas en algunos lugares, pero no en otros; Por favor, consulte con el organizador de la reunión para confirmar los horarios de las próximas reuniones.

La fecha límite para la Convocatoria de Libros Blancos sobre Optimización de Cadencia LSST es en menos de un mes; los libros blancos deben enviarse antes del 30 de noviembre de 2018. Haga clic aquí para obtener más información.

La Cámara de Recubrimiento LSST llegó al Puerto de Coquimbo, Chile, el 23 de octubre, finalizando un viaje por el océano de siete semanas que comenzó en Amberes, Bélgica. Durante cuatro días después de su llegada, la Cámara de revestimiento se preparó, se dividió en dos partes (arriba y abajo) y se cargó en vehículos de transporte especializados para el viaje a la cima del Cerro Pachón. Las fotos están disponibles en la Galería LSST

En la mañana del 25 de octubre, en el laboratorio de espejos Richard F. Caris campus de la Universidad de Arizona, el espejo Primario / Terciario (M1M3) del LSST fue retirado con éxito de su contenedor de transporte y se llevó a la celda M1M3. Lea más sobre este hito y vea un video del trabajo de levante en esta reciente publicación de noticias.

El espejo secundario LSST (M2), que se terminó recientemente en Rochester, Nueva York, ha comenzado su viaje a Chile. El espejo y sus componentes asociados fueron cargados y asegurados en tres remolques el 30 de octubre, y transportados al Puerto de Albany, NY. Los remolques y la carga están actualmente almacenados en el puerto, a la espera de la llegada de la BBC Challenger, el cual está programado para llegar el 11 de noviembre. Las fotos de M2 ​​viajando en camión desde Rochester a Albany están disponibles en la Galería LSST.

La 50ª Reunión Anual de la División de Ciencias Planetarias (DPS) de AAS se celebró en Knoxville, TN, del 21 al 26 de octubre. El LSST Solar System Science Collaboration (SSSC) realizó un taller en la reunión, al que asistieron aproximadamente 55 personas, que incluyó actualizaciones de estado sobre el proyecto LSST y las actividades del SSSC. Una foto del taller está disponible en la Galería LSST, y las presentaciones están vinculadas desde esta página.

NOTICIAS DE LA CORPORACION LSST

La Corporación LSST celebró una reunión de la Junta Ejecutiva e Institucional en Tucson, AZ, del 24 al 25 de octubre. Asistieron aproximadamente 25 miembros de la Junta, colaboradores internacionales, representantes de LSST Proyecto y Corporación, y otras partes interesadas. La reunión de dos días incluyó una actualización del Proyecto por parte del Director de LSST, Steve Kahn y el Director Adjunto de LSST, Zeljko Ivezic, más un informe pre-operaciones y comisión de Director de Operaciones en funciones de LSST, Bob Blum. Se presentaron actualizaciones y actividades relacionadas con la misión de la Corporación LSST que se enfocaron en las Operaciones de LSST y el Programa de Desarrollo de Fondos de la Corporación.

NOTICIAS DEL PERSONAL

Las posiciones abiertas disponibles de trabajo con LSST, incluidas dos posiciones de Asistente Administrativo, se enumeran en este enlace.

PRÓXIMAS REUNIONES QUE INVOLUCRAN A LSST

(aquellas con asterisco * están financiadas por LSSTC):

One of the activities included in Factory Acceptance Testing of the Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) is installation and removal of the camera surrogate, a steel structure that approximates the mass of the LSST camera assembly, using the camera lifting fixture. The camera lifting fixture, like the TMA, was fabricated at the Asturfeito factory in Spain. Using a camera surrogate for these tests ensures that any issues arising during the installation or removal process can be addressed long before the real—and far more delicate—camera is integrated with the TMA in Chile. This video contains footage of the installation and removal of the surrogate camera using the camera lifting fixture.

Dr. Amanda Bauer, Head of EPO for LSST, was recently interviewed for the Cardiff University podcast Pythagorean Astronomy. The episode, in which she discusses the impact of LSST, can be accessed here.

www.mundomaritimo.cl

Equipo El Día

Puerto Coquimbo terminal receives coating chamber of the future LSST telescope...  

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ELECONOMISTAAMÉRICA.COM | CHILE

October 26, 2018 - A week after the Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) Cell was moved to the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab on the University of Arizona campus, the M1M3 Mirror was also moved to the Mirror Lab from a hangar at Million Air, where it has been stored since its fabrication in 2015.

The Mirror left the hangar at Tucson International Airport on a specialized trailer from Precision Heavy Haul and arrived at the Mirror Lab at approximately 4:00 a.m. on October 18th. As with the M1M3 Cell move last week, the Mirror waited outside the Lab until the outside air temperature warmed to the accepted level, and then was moved inside the building. The designated LSST workspace inside the Mirror Lab now accommodates the Mirror, the Mirror Cell, and the Mirror lifting fixture, so some strategic rearranging was done to ensure the space was used as efficiently as possible.

Later the same day, the lid on the Mirror's protective shipping container was removed and the Mirror was revealed for the first time since being placed in storage. The next day, the Mirror's protective blue polymer coating, originally applied before it was stored, was refreshed with a new layer.

Now that both the Cell and the Mirror are in the Lab, the next step is the installation of the Mirror onto the M1M3 Cell using the vacuum lifter.