We present the practical experiences and results obtained in the manufacturing of tools and equipment needed for handling the telescope mirrors, the corrective process of the operation, and the maintenance of the 1.3m Colibrí telescope. These tools and equipment include those used for mounting and dismounting the M1, M2, and M3 mirrors, as well as the DDRAGO/CAGIRE instrument of the Colibrí telescope, from the observing room to the ground level outside the building, and to the vacuum chamber for aluminization of the mirrors. This also includes tools to balance the instrument and those used in the cleaning process of the mirrors. Our designs addressed the challenges of handling and maintaining the components in the limited space available in the building and at the dome of the Colibrí fast alt-az telescope.
This work presents the design, implementation, and commissioning of the infrastructure and support services of the 1.3- meter COLIBRI robotic telescope site, located at the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional en San Pedro Martir, Instituto de Astronomía- UNAM, Baja California, Mexico. COLIBRI is a ground-based telescope, associated with the SVOM (Space Variable Object Monitor) mission dedicated to the study of gamma ray bursts. We share the progress on the building as well as the installations of the electrical systems, communications, air conditioning systems and security systems. We also share the strategies implemented to achieve the optimization of spaces in the building and the operation site, including technological challenges related to the process of enabling equipment to meet operating specifications and requirements.
We present the design of the tools and equipment needed for mounting and dismounting the M1, M2, and M3 mirrors and DDRAGO/CAGIRE instrument of the Colibrí telescope at the observing room floor and from there to the ground level outside the building. Also, it includes the tool needed to balance the instruments that will be attach to Nasmyth stations and the ones needed to handle the mirrors in the vacuum chamber. Our designs confront the problem of handling these components in the very limited space available in the dome of a fast alt-az telescope.
Cosmic explosions have emerged as a major field of astrophysics over the last years with our increasing capability to monitor large parts of the sky in different wavelengths and with different messengers (photons, neutrinos, and gravitational waves). In this context, gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) play a very specific role, as they are the most energetic explosions in the Universe. The forthcoming Sino-French SVOM mission will make a major contribution to this scientific domain by improving our understanding of the GRB phenomenon and by allowing their use to understand the infancy of the Universe. In order to fulfill all of its scientific objectives, SVOM will be complemented by a fast robotic 1.3 m telescope, COLIBRI, with multiband photometric capabilities (from visible to infrared). This telescope is being jointly developed by France and Mexico. The telescope and one of its instruments are currently being extensively tested at OHP in France and will be installed in Mexico in spring 2023.
This work describes the architectural design for the construction of the building for the COLIBRI robotic telescope, which has a 1.3 m primary mirror and forms part of the ground segment of the SVOM (Space Variable Object Monitor) mission dedicated to the detection and study of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The building is currently being installed. The building that will house the telescope will have a total height of 10 m including the dome. The center of the building will contain a concrete column with an independent foundation of the building of 2.5 m in diameter and 5.3 meter in height. In addition it will have 2 levels (floors) for the control room and observing room. In this article we share the progress achieved so far, which includes the design for the building structure, installations of the electrical, communication and network systems, air-conditioning systems, special considerations related to the environmental management of the operation site, and the start of construction. We also include the technological challenges and challenges addressed during the design process, in particular we will present our solutions to avoid heat leaks from the control room to the observing room and isolate the telescope from vibrations produced by the dome and the rest of the enclosure.
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