TMT Supplier Conference

For the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Secondary (M2) and Tertiary Mirror (M3) Systems

September 14, 2007

The Thirty Meter Telescope project is pleased to annouce its TMT Supplier Conference to review our plan to issue Requests for Proposals (RFP's) for study contracts to develop preliminary designs and analysis of the M2 and M3 Systems. A key purpose of these studies will be to develop credible cost and schedule estimates for the Final Design and Fabrication of these Systems, which will be procured in our construction phase, scheduled to begin in 2009.

Each System will consist of a mirror cell, supports, the finished mirror, control systems and a positioner. The M2 will be a convex mirror 3.1 meters in diameter. The M3 will be an elliptical flat mirror 2.5 x 3.5 meters across.

The M2 & M3 Systems Supplier Conference will be held on 14 September 2007 at the TMT Project Office located at 2632 East Washington Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107. Qualified Organizations interested in supplying either the M2 or M3 System are required to contact TMT to confirm availability and make reservations. Reservations are required so that we can ensure adequate facilities and plan for lunch, which will be provided by TMT. Please call Holly Novack at 626-395-1602 by September 12, 2007 with the number of people planning to attend. Because space is limited, we request no more than 3 representatives from each organization attend. Exceptions to this limit must be approved in advance.

The agenda for the Conference is presented below. Technical discussions will be held in the morning, with questions and answers after each talk. Most of the afternoon will be reserved for breakout sessions with organizations who wish to discuss their proprietary information. TMT does not plan to provide additional technical information regarding the M2 and M3 Systems during breakout sessions. Reservations for these appointments will be on a first come basis and should be requested prior to the meeting. Prior arrangements should also be made to receive a TMT Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) if it is required for these talks. Appointments for the Breakout Sessions can be made by calling Holly Novack at 626-395-1602.

TMT's presentations will be posted on our website after the conference.

The RFPs for the M2 and M3 systems are scheduled to be issued in October 2007. In each case, proposals will be due in 30 days. Contract awards are expected to be granted in January 2008 with 4 months to complete the proposed effort.

The RFP will be open to all qualified bidders, including universities and federally funded research centers (FFRCs). The RFPs will also be posted on the TMT website.

We look forward to seeing you at our Supplier Conference. For reservations, please feel free to contact Holly Novack (hnovack@tmt.org). For all other questions, please contact Pratheep Eamranond (pratheep@tmt.org).

Agenda