Handling 20 tons of honeycomb mirror with a very gentle touch

Warren B. Davison; Joseph T. Williams; John M. Hill

doi:10.1117/12.319257

25 August 1998 Handling 20 tons of honeycomb mirror with a very gentle touch

Warren B. Davison, Joseph T. Williams, John M. Hill

Proceedings Volume 3352, Advanced Technology Optical/IR Telescopes VI; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.319257
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 1998, Kona, HI, United States

Abstract

The 6.5 meter and 8.4 meter mirrors being produced at Steward Observatory have to be lifted, turned, ground, polished, shipped and installed without exceeding 0.7 MPa (100 psi) stress in the glass. Many pieces of specialized equipment and some innovations are required to do this on a tight budget. We have developed lifting fixtures that are either glued on or held by vacuum. We have also designed turning rings that fill our lab, and transportation boxes to hold the mirror horizontal, vertical or in a ship. The sheer size and mass of the mirrors and equipment, plus the very stringent constraints makes the solutions interesting. This may not be the part of telescope design and construction that attracts the most attention, unless...

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Warren B. Davison, Joseph T. Williams, and John M. Hill "Handling 20 tons of honeycomb mirror with a very gentle touch", Proc. SPIE 3352, Advanced Technology Optical/IR Telescopes VI, (25 August 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.319257

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