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December
The steeply curved M1/M3 surface is prepared for polishing. (Dec. 17, 2009)
Credit: 
Paul O'Connor BNL/LSST
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February
The LSST M1M3 mirror is face down on the SOML large optical grinder and the back surface core holes have been plugged (blue circles) in preparation for grinding and polishing the back surface of the mirror.
Credit: 
LSST
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July
Doug Neill, Steve Warner, and Bill Gressler (L-R) inspect the back surface of the LSST M1M3 blank after the 40 micron loose abrasive grinding process. Above in the foreground is the large loose abrasive grinding lap used to process the back surface.
Credit: 
Ray Bertram
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July
The steel polishing cell to support the M1M3 mirror blank during the upcoming front surface optical processing is delivered to SOML in the Integration Lab.
Credit: 
Ray Bertram
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October
The 8.4-meter LSST mirror blank has been successfully lifted from the furnace hearth at the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, installed into a turning ring, and tilted to a vertical position. It is now ready for core cleanout, which will reduce its mass from 46,500 kg to 16,600 kg. The mirror is scheduled to be completed in January 2012, and will be the largest two-surface optical mirror ever made from a single substrate.
Credit: 
Jeffrey S. Kingsley/UA Steward Observatory
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August
Members of the team building the LSST, a large survey telescope being built in Northern Chile, gather to celebrate the successful casting of the telescope's 27.5-foot-diameter mirror blank in August 2008.
Credit: 
Howard Lester / LSST
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The oven lid was lifted to reveal a perfect casting, nearly 26 tons of glass melted and spun into the approximate curvature of the telescope's mirrors.
Credit: 
Ray Bertram
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March
LSST Director Tony Tyson, Charles Simonyi, UA Mirror Lab Director Roger Angel, The National Science Board's Steven Beering, LSST Project Manager Don Sweeney, and Purdue Physicist Ian Shipsey pose in front of the spinning oven in which the LSST primary mirror is being cast.
Credit: 
David Harvey / LSST Corporation
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February
Chunks of Ohara E6 low expansion glass are loaded into the furnace mold. The loading process takes two days to complete and requires 51,900 pounds of glass.
Credit: 
Ray Bertram / Steward Observatory
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November
Jim Bracken, Randy Lutz, and Phil Muir (L-R) install cores in the LSST monolithic mirror mold. Nov 20, 2007
Credit: 
V. Krabbendam, LSST
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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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