New Robotic Telescope system progress towards critical design review

David Copley; Richard Ashley; Stuart Bates; João Bento; Sebastian Buntin; Chris Copperwheat; Adam Garner; Beth Garton; David Heffernan; Helen Jermak; David Law; Adrian McGrath; Chloé Miossec; Ali Ranjbar; Robert Smith; Iain Steele; Alejandra Goded; Carlos M. Gutiérrez; Alberto Prieto; Marta Puga; César Quintana; Rafael Rebolo; Javier De Cos; Javier Gracia Rodriguez; César Rodríguez Pereira; Fernando Sánchez Lasheras; Fernando Abárzuza

doi:10.1117/12.3018999

11 September 2024 New Robotic Telescope system progress towards critical design review

David Copley, Richard Ashley, Stuart Bates, João Bento, Sebastian Buntin, Chris Copperwheat, Adam Garner, Beth Garton, David Heffernan, Helen Jermak, David Law, Adrian McGrath, Chloé Miossec, Ali Ranjbar, Robert Smith, Iain Steele, Alejandra Goded, Carlos M. Gutiérrez, Alberto Prieto, Marta Puga, César Quintana, Rafael Rebolo, Javier De Cos, Javier Gracia Rodriguez, César Rodríguez Pereira, Fernando Sánchez Lasheras, Fernando Abárzuza

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X; 130943W (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018999
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

The 4m class New Robotic Telescope (NRT) is an optical facility designed to revolutionize the rapid follow-up and classification of variable and transient objects. The project is at the stage where key systems are progressing through their detailed design phases, which presents a major engineering challenge for all project partners to manage design progress of the high-level interfacing systems while still ensuring the delivery of top-level science requirements. The freezing of key system architecture features at the preliminary design review in 2021 has allowed significant progress to be made towards a target of Engineering First Light (EFL) in 2027. The project critical path is currently driven by the optics and the enclosure. Both of these components are novel in design: the NRT will have an 18-segment primary mirror and a large, fully-opening clamshell enclosure. Particular progress has been made regarding enclosure design, software & control, science & operations software and the focal station and associated science support instrumentation. The Critical Design Review for the M3 (fold mirror) was completed Q4 2022 which enabled manufacturing of the first NRT glassware to begin and prototyping of the complete opto-mechanical, hardware and software subsystem for its control to take place. The NRT will join the 2m Liverpool Telescope on La Palma, and as such this existing facility has been exploited to prototype the new science operations user interface and the NRT wavefront sensor.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

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David Copley, Richard Ashley, Stuart Bates, João Bento, Sebastian Buntin, Chris Copperwheat, Adam Garner, Beth Garton, David Heffernan, Helen Jermak, David Law, Adrian McGrath, Chloé Miossec, Ali Ranjbar, Robert Smith, Iain Steele, Alejandra Goded, Carlos M. Gutiérrez, Alberto Prieto, Marta Puga, César Quintana, Rafael Rebolo, Javier De Cos, Javier Gracia Rodriguez, César Rodríguez Pereira, Fernando Sánchez Lasheras, and Fernando Abárzuza "New Robotic Telescope system progress towards critical design review", Proc. SPIE 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X, 130943W (11 September 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3018999

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