March 17, 2017 – On many fronts and in many places, construction on LSST is moving ahead quickly.
In Spain, the Telescope Mount Assembly construction continues with a successful trial fit of the Azimuth support on its track. An Azimuth axial bearing was placed in its position in order to check the interface with support. Clearances for components assembly were checked and minor adjustments will be made on some parts. This trial fit proved very useful in preparing for on-site installation in 2018.
The latest images from Cerro Pachón show progress on the facilities building, work being done on the 7th and 8th level of the structure, white siding on the lower enclosure, and the stairway inside the pier.
And in Tucson, CAID Industries has begun automated processing of the 4400 interface holes on the M1M3 weldment deck plate using a robotic machining head. In this short video, the custom machining tool is mounted directly onto the M1M3 Cell and engraving the LSST logo on a sample piece of material.
Financial support for Rubin Observatory comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Cooperative Support Agreement No. 1202910, 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 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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