Paper
2 August 2000 Unique dome design for the SOAR telescope project
Jose Teran, David S. Porter, Edward A. Hileman, Daniel H. Neff
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
The SOAR telescope dome is a 20 meter diameter 5/8 spherical structure built on a rotating steel frame with an over the top nesting shutter and covered with a fiberglass panel system. The insulated fiberglass panel system can be self- supporting and is typically used for radomes on ground based tracking systems. The enclosed observing area is ventilated using a down draft ventilation system. The rotating steel frame is comprised of a ring beam and dual arch girders to provide support to the panel system sections and guide the shutter. The dual door shutter incorporates a unique differential drive system that reduces the complexity of the control system. The dome, shutter and windscreen `track' the telescope for maximum wind protection. The dome rotates on sixteen fixed compliant bogie assemblies. The dome is designed for assembly in sections off the facility and lifted into place for minimal impact on assembly of other telescope systems. The expected cost of the complete dome; including structure, drives, and controls is under 1.7 million. The details covered in this paper are the initial trade-offs and rationale required by SOAR to define the dome, the detailed design performed by M3 Engineering and Technology, and the choices made during the design.
© (2000) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Jose Teran, David S. Porter, Edward A. Hileman, and Daniel H. Neff "Unique dome design for the SOAR telescope project", Proc. SPIE 4004, Telescope Structures, Enclosures, Controls, Assembly/Integration/Validation, and Commissioning, (2 August 2000); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.393910
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Cited by 1 scholarly publication.
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KEYWORDS
Camera shutters

Telescopes

Space telescopes

Optical instrument design

Spherical lenses

Aluminum

Bridges

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