Proceedings Article | 1 June 1994
Proc. SPIE. 2199, Advanced Technology Optical Telescopes V
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Mirrors, Gemini Observatory, Coating, Computer programming, Head, Finite element methods, Structural design, Telescope design, Optical instrument design
The Gemini project is an international collaboration to design, fabricate, and assemble two 8 M telescopes, one on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the other on Cerro Pachon in Chile. The telescopes will be national facilities designed to meet the Gemini Science Requirements (GSR), a document developed by the Gemini Science Committee (GSC) and the national project scientists. The Gemini telescope group, based on Tucson, has developed a telescope structure to meet the GSR. This paper describes the science requirements that have technically driven the design, and the features that have been incorporated to meet these requirements. This is followed by a brief description of the telescope design. Finally, analyses that have been performed and development programs that have been undertaken are described briefly. Only the designs that have been performed by the Gemini Telescope Structure, Building and Enclosure Group are presented here; control, optical systems, acquisition and guiding, active and adaptive optics, Cassegrain rotator and instrumentation issues are designed and managed by others and will not be discussed here, except for a brief description of the telescope configurations to aid subsequent discussions.
