November 5, 2019 - This video captures an energizing milestone: the LSST Dome is moving! A team from EIE Group and Phase Motion Control was on the Summit from October 21 through 25 to start up and test the LSST Dome azimuth drives. The bogies (the assemblies of axles and wheels on which the dome rotates) were aligned, and the drives that power the dome were installed and connected.
During Operations, the LSST Dome will be powered by a rack-and-pinion system. The provisional friction-drive system which has now been implemented is being used for initial rotation to allow the positioning of the dome aperture, and to allow use of the interior crane as required for Telescope Mount installation.
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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