Correcting primary reflector surface errors produced by excessive thermal dependence on the North American ALMA 12-meter antennas

Art Symmes; Peter Fasel; Jeff Mangum; Klaus Willmeroth

doi:10.1117/12.2560188

13 December 2020 Correcting primary reflector surface errors produced by excessive thermal dependence on the North American ALMA 12-meter antennas

Art Symmes, Peter Fasel, Jeff Mangum, Klaus Willmeroth

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Proceedings Volume 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII; 114455A (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2560188
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

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Abstract

Twenty-five 12-meter diameter antennas were delivered by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) to the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Observatory. Astronomical holography (astroholography) surface measurements conducted from 2011 through 2014 established that on some antennas the reflector surface error surpassed the specified error limit of 25μm because of an excessive thermal dependence. This paper summarizes the testing and analysis efforts to identify the root-cause of the primary surface error thermal dependence and the resulting design efforts, which lead to the development of a prototype and a subsequent production wall system that satisfactorily minimizes the primary surface thermal difference.

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Art Symmes, Peter Fasel, Jeff Mangum, and Klaus Willmeroth "Correcting primary reflector surface errors produced by excessive thermal dependence on the North American ALMA 12-meter antennas", Proc. SPIE 11445, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII, 114455A (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2560188

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