The Giant Magellan Telescope mount: the core of a next generation 25.4-m aperture ELT
Affiliation
Steward Observatory, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2022
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SPIECitation
Burgett, W., Park, S., Beifus, K., Echols, C., Lam, K.-M., Loewen, N., Smith, B., Ashby, D., & Bernstein, R. (2022). The Giant Magellan Telescope mount: The core of a next generation 25.4-m aperture ELT. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 12182.Rights
Copyright © 2022 SPIE.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is one of three planned ground-based optical/IR Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) that will provide a generational leap in ground-based Optical/IR capability. The GMTO Corp. completed in 2019 a multi-stage acquisition process that led to the selection of OHB Digital Connect (formerly MT-Mechatronics or MTM) and Ingersoll Machine Tools (IMT) to supply the final design, fabrication, and installation of the GMT Mount. The ∼2000 metric ton GMT Mount comprises the telescope structures, mechanisms, and utilities but does not include the optics and science instruments. This paper provides a general overview of the technical scope of the GMT Mount including the key and driving requirements, systems engineering framework, and planned design development. Due to the GMT site location in Chile, the Mount design must accommodate a challenging seismic environment. Major Mount subsystems are also described including the Hydrostatic Bearing System (HBS), Gregorian Instrument Rotator (GIR), and the Azimuth Track and its interface to the telescope Pier. In addition, a summary is presented of the design path forward to the Final Design Review (FDR) from the point of completing the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in early 2021, including the current status of critical prototyping efforts. Finally, management processes are outlined that are necessary to execute the Mount design-build contract spanning the next 8-9 years. © 2022 SPIE.Note
Immediate accessISSN
0277-786XISBN
9781510653450Version
Final published versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1117/12.2629729