Overview and status of the Giant Magellan Telescope project

James Fanson; Rebecca Bernstein; George Angeli; David Ashby; Bruce Bigelow; Glenn Brossus; Antonin Bouchez; William Burgett; Adam Contos; Richard Demers; Francisco Figueroa; Barbara Fischer; Frank Groark; Robert Laskin; Rafael Millan-Gabet; Marti Pi; Nune Wheeler

doi:10.1117/12.2561852

13 December 2020 Overview and status of the Giant Magellan Telescope project

James Fanson, Rebecca Bernstein, George Angeli, David Ashby, Bruce Bigelow, Glenn Brossus, Antonin Bouchez, William Burgett, Adam Contos, Richard Demers, Francisco Figueroa, Barbara Fischer, Frank Groark, Robert Laskin, Rafael Millan-Gabet, Marti Pi, Nune Wheeler

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII; 114451F (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561852
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

The Giant Magellan Telescope project is proceeding with design, fabrication, and site construction. The first two 8.4m primary mirror segments have been completed and placed in storage, three segments are in various stages of grinding and polishing, the sixth segment is in the initial stages of casting, and glass is in hand to cast the seventh segment. An industry contract is in place to complete the design and proceed with fabrication of the telescope structure. Residence buildings and other facilities at the Las Campanas site in Chile are complete. Hard rock excavation of the foundations for the enclosure and telescope pier is complete. Preliminary design of the enclosure has been completed and final design is underway. Seismic isolation system bearings have been tested. A primary mirror segment test cell that will be used to qualify control system components and software is being fabricated. Prototyping continues in several areas, including on-telescope wavefront sensing and control elements, telescope laser metrology, and a subscale Adaptive Secondary Mirror (ASM). Adaptive optics and phasing testbeds are under development. Construction activities were delayed by the global coronavirus pandemic, but work has now resumed.

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James Fanson, Rebecca Bernstein, George Angeli, David Ashby, Bruce Bigelow, Glenn Brossus, Antonin Bouchez, William Burgett, Adam Contos, Richard Demers, Francisco Figueroa, Barbara Fischer, Frank Groark, Robert Laskin, Rafael Millan-Gabet, Marti Pi, and Nune Wheeler "Overview and status of the Giant Magellan Telescope project", Proc. SPIE 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII, 114451F (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561852

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