June 3, 2016 - Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) subcontractor Asturfeito continues to build the LSST telescope pier in their facility in Spain; this duplicate pier will be used to support the trial assembly and testing of the TMA. LSST Telescope Technical Manager Shawn Callahan explains the pier construction process shown in the image:
“The top of the completed Spanish pier will be roughly 2 1/2 meters tall. The workmen are roughly 2 meters tall and the top of the pier is level with the 400 grey PVC pipes. After the concrete sets, the PVC is removed leaving pockets bolts that will secure the azimuth track assembly to the pier.
The bulk of the work to ready the foundation is in the preparation of the forms and rebar. The inside diameter of the form is the tall rolled steel cylinder reinforced with interlocking orange fiberglass panes.
The orange panels on the floor seen on the left of the picture will be used to support steel forms on the outside diameter. The outside diameter panels are scheduled to be put in place this week.
Once the inside and outside forms are all securely locked in place the concrete will be pumped in from the top to form the pier.
The concrete pour is scheduled for next week. It took a month to lay up the forms to this point so they are roughly 80% complete.
All the structure seen in this pictures remains in Spain and will be demolished with jack hammers after the TMA is disassembled for shipment to Cerro Pachón and reassembly on the summit.”
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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