← Back to rubinobservatory.org

February
The lifter pauses above the mirror after installation of the mirror in the container.
Credit: 
LSST
Medium Version
Full Size Version
February
The mirror is lifted from the polishing cell (in the far back) to the container (in the front).
Credit: 
LSST
Medium Version
Full Size Version
February
A close-up of one of the vacuum pads after it has been secured to the mirror. The pumps were turned off and the pressure was monitored overnight and checked the following morning to ensure that there were no leaks before lifting the mirror into its container.
Credit: 
LSST
Medium Version
Full Size Version
February
The lifter is supported by the crane above the mirror with 54 vacuum pads on the mirror. The pumps connected to the pads (yellow boxes located on the lifter) are on in this picture, creating a vacuum under each pad and securing the mirror to the lifter.
Credit: 
LSST
Medium Version
Full Size Version

eNews Archive

Link to the online versions of the LSST E-News, or download the PDF version to print or read later.

Volume 7 Number 2 • April 2014

Read online (HTML)  Download (PDF)

DrupalCon Austin

The LSST web team made its annual trip to DrupalConJune 2-6 with the maturing LSST website redesign project in mind. Drupal is a free, modular, and open source content management framework used by LSST for its websites. DrupalCon, the largest gathering of Drupal developers and users, afforded the LSST web team the opportunity to meet, brainstorm, and share lessons learned with the approximately 3,300 other Drupal users who attended. During the week in Austin, Texas, the team focused on sessions addressing “Frankensites,” accessibility, security, and best practices for upgrading to new Drupal versions.

TMA Contract Officially Signed

August 13, 2014 – The LSST Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) contract has been signed by AURA and vendor GHESA Ingeniería y Tecnología, S.A (in consortium with ASTURFEITO, S.A.).

Andy Connolly’s TED Talk

In March of 2014, UW astronomer and LSST Simulations Lead Andy Connolly was a featured speaker at the Vancouver, Canada, TED Symposium. He describes LSST when talking about “What’s the Next Window into our Universe?”. This talk is now featured online:

“Big Data is everywhere – even the skies. In an informative talk, astronomer Andrew Connolly shows how large amounts of data are being collected about our universe, recording it in its ever-changing moods. Just how do scientists capture so many images  at scale? It starts with a giant telescope…”

Mirror Nears Completion

The LSST monolithic M1M3 mirror blank approaches completion at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory Mirror Lab. The combined primary (M1) and tertiary (M3) surfaces are seen on the left in this image from July 2014 with the red polishing compound highlighting the active polishing zone of M3. In anticipation of completion, the vacuum lifting fixture (right, September 2014) is being assembled to supply suction to lift the mirror off the polishing cell and lower it into the mirror transport box once the polishing is complete. The fixture will then be disassembled and stored locally until it’s time to reinstall the M1M3 for final optical testing in the telescope cell prior to shipment to Chile.

Pages

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.   




Contact   |   We are Hiring

Admin Login

Back to Top