The Thirty Meter Telescope is a new class of extremely large telescopes that will allow us to see deeper into space and observe cosmic objects with unprecedented sensitivity.
TMT will be a unique tool for probing many outstanding open questions in astronomy.
The Thirty Meter Telescope is being designed and developed by the TMT International Observatory LLC (TIO).
The Board of the Thirty Meter Telescope selected Maunakea in July 2009 after a rigorous five-year campaign spanning the entire globe that measured virtually every atmospheric feature that might affect the performance of the telescope.
The production of TMT’s primary mirrors in North America is progressing very well. Several polished glass-ceramic roundels are currently in production at the Coherent manufacturing facilities; three were recently finished and shipped to the TMT storage facility in the Bay Area.
The TMT Laser Guide Star Facility (LGSF) has successfully completed the first phase of its Preliminary Design Review (PDR1). The LGSF will be responsible for generating artificial laser guide stars that will be used with TMT’s Adaptive Optics (AO) systems, including NFIRAOS, the Observatory’s first-light AO facility.
The optical metrology and test set for TMT’s primary mirror segments has arrived at its warehouse in California. It was sent by Arizona Optical Systems (AOS) in Tucson, Arizona, on May 11 and arrived safely the day after at the TMT storage facility after a 500-mile journey. All fabrication and test tooling for the complete metrology system were also included in the freight.
The handling equipment for TMT primary mirror (M1) segment recently passed its Preliminary Design Review. The custom-designed equipment and tooling will be used to safely handle mirrors within the observatory during operational activities.
TMT is deeply saddened by the passing of TMT Systems Engineer Hugh Thompson on May 7, 2021. Hugh was a colleague, good friend and inspiration to many of us who were fortunate to interact with him over his career.
