Harris Corporation Delivering Its Largest Mirror Ever for Ground-based Telescope

Date Announced: 26 Nov 2018

Mirror will be part of National Science Foundation’s Large Synoptic Survey Telescope.

MELBOURNE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has shipped its largest mirror ever for a ground-based observatory that will produce the deepest, widest, views of the universe.

Harris is part of the National Science Foundation team assembling the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) on the Cerro Pachón ridge in Chile. The company is providing the 3.5 meter, 3,500-pound secondary mirror and associated ground support equipment. In addition, Harris is delivering the cell assembly that stabilizes the mirror to offset the effects of gravity during operation.

LSST will conduct an unprecedented, decade-long survey of the entire visible sky, detecting billions of new objects and contributing to the study of dark matter and dark energy. Operations are scheduled to begin in 2022.

“The Harris-built secondary mirror for LSST continues a 50-year legacy of designing and constructing high-end optical systems that meet challenging requirements,” said Murali Krishnan, vice president and general manager, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Harris Space and Intelligence Systems. “We can’t wait to see the science that will be discovered.”

“This achievement marks the successful conclusion of a great joint effort between LSST and Harris. Numerous challenges due to the mirror’s large size and convex shape were overcome with novel and custom fabrication and metrology solutions,” said William Gressler, LSST Telescope and Site Manager. “The Harris team successfully completed and is delivering the world’s largest active secondary mirror system. We look forward to its delivery to the summit site in Chile and future telescope integration.”

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said, “This federal National Science Foundation investment is leveraging Harris’ skilled Rochester workforce to bring the farthest reaches of the universe into focus. A leader in Rochester’s world-class optics and photonics industry, Harris employees are making history by manufacturing the world’s largest terrestrial telescope active secondary mirror system in Rochester, New York. Their cutting-edge achievement will push scientific frontiers, enable new discoveries, and chart the universe like never before.

Source: Harris Corporation

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