The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), one of three next-generation extremely large telescopes (ELTs), will have a 25.4- meter diameter effective aperture, and will be located on the summit of Cerro Las Campanas in Chile. Developing a new observatory for cutting-edge science operations and a 50-year lifespan poses a variety of design challenges. This paper discusses the designs that have been adopted in the GMT site master plan, including designs for the site infrastructure, telescope enclosure, and facilities. The GMTO site has been in active construction since 2015, and in the past two years has completed important steps in site development including completion of hard rock excavations for the telescope and enclosure foundations, construction of the underground utility distribution systems, and other infrastructure upgrades to support the current and upcoming construction work.
Telescope enclosure azimuth rotation systems have traditionally been supported by custom bogies with steel wheels and steel rails, with mixed results in terms of long-term reliability and performance. Because the enclosure azimuth rotation mechanisms are vital for the operational success of all telescopes, and because the scale of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) enclosure will exceed that of all enclosures now in existence, the GMT project team has explored alternative solutions for enclosure rotation in search of cost, reliability, and maintainability benefits. Four concepts are studied: railway bogies, ring crane bogies, segmented slewing bearings, and THK curved linear bearings. All four concepts are highly developed systems engineered to meet specific design objectives and performance requirements, some objectives of which overlap those of the GMT enclosure azimuth rotation system; however, in all four instances, significant customization or development of an altogether new product would be required for fulfilment of the GMT performance requirements.
The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), one of three next-generation extremely large telescopes (ELTs), will have a 25.4- meter diameter effective aperture, and will be located on the summit of Cerro Las Campanas in Chile. Developing a new observatory for cutting-edge science operations and a 50-year lifespan poses challenges that have resulted in competing design concepts. This paper discusses the concepts that have been adopted in the GMT site master plan, including designs for the site infrastructure, telescope enclosure, and facilities. The GMTO site has been in active construction since 2015, and in the past two years has completed important steps in site development including completion of residential and office facilities, road improvements, and other necessary infrastructure to support upcoming work. This paper concludes with an overview on managing design and construction simultaneously.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.