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PILOT — Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope

PILOT — Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope. John Storey With Jon Lawrence, Michael Ashley and Michael Burton. Image: John Storey. Outline. Why PILOT? Specification Tower? Logistics Next steps. Image: Patrik Kaufmann. PILOT: Pathfinder for an

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PILOT — Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope

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  1. PILOT—Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope John Storey With Jon Lawrence, Michael Ashley and Michael Burton Image: John Storey

  2. Outline • Why PILOT? • Specification • Tower? • Logistics • Next steps Image: Patrik Kaufmann

  3. PILOT: Pathfinder for an International Large Optical Telescope. Image: EOST

  4. Why a ~2.4 metre telescope? • It is the next step along a path towards • An interferometer • A large filled-aperture HAR telescope • A large filled-aperture wide-field telescope • A sub-mm telescope • It is available “off the shelf” and so it is • Inexpensive (eg, passive mirror support) • Fast (30 months) • The instrumentation is small and inexpensive • It can remain at Dome C as special-purpose telescope after the “pathfinder” phase.

  5. Towards an Antarctic ELT GMTA, 24 metres, 2026 LAPCAT, 8 metres, 2016 PILOT, 2.4 metres, 2012

  6. LAPCAT The Large Antarctic Plateau Clear Aperture Telescope Animation: Inside Systems Gmbh

  7. PILOT could be similar to the Lick Rocky Planet Finder telescope Strawman design: • 2.4 metre primary • Dual Nasmyth f/10 • Brushless direct drive • Fast tip-tilt secondary Image: EOST

  8. PILOT Functional Specification • PILOT will have mirror diameter 1.8m – 2.4m, with preference for the largest size possible. • Classic two-mirror design; Ritchey-Cretien or Gregorian, and using Nasmyth focus. • Able to point to any elevations greater than 20 at all azimuths. • Two modes of operation; wide-field, natural-seeing limited operating at about f/10, over a field of view 75mm x 75mm; and • Diffraction-limited imaging at about f/20 over at least 37mm x 37mm. • Designs with fixed, or at least the same, camera in the two modes are strongly preferred. • Possible future use of PILOT as part of an interferometer

  9. PASA, 22, (2005),199 – 235. See also: www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jacara/antbib.php

  10. Can PILOT act as a pathfinder for future telescopes, and do good science? Image: John Storey

  11. There are ~100,000 objects in earth orbit with sizes between 1 cm and 10cm. Most are in unknown orbits. A collision with any one of these objects could destroy a $1b satellite. Dome C is the ideal location for detection of polar-orbitting debris. Could PILOT have a “dual role”? Satellite debris Image: NASA

  12. Telescope Elevation Advantages Rodgers, Swain and Hippler 2006

  13. Is a tower required? For wide-field imaging; no For high-res. imaging; maybe PILOT weighs 27 tonnes 30 m “Hammerschlag” tower weighs 100 tonnes Deflection under maximum wind gusts at Dome C is ~100 milli arcsec (Lanford et al 2006) Dutch Open Telescope, La Palma Image: Robert Hammerschlag et al, 2006

  14. The new Australian Antarctic Division air-link will be fully operational in 2007. Dome C Images: Australian Antarctic Division

  15. Logistic support from Hobart Dome C ● ● Casey DdU ● l’Astrolabe Hobart ● Image: Australian Antarctic Division Sydney ●

  16. Getting PILOT from Dumont d’Urville to Dome C. Image: John Storey

  17. Complete 1.8-metre telescope (minus mirror) Image: Electro-Optic Systems

  18. And one more... Another 2.4 m telescope 2.4 m telescope Image: John Storey

  19. Governance of PILOT Australia and Europe share the total cost 50:50 Australia and Europe share the observing time 50:50 All data become publicly available after 18 months Instruments are preferably constructed as joint ventures (could also involve US?) Exchange of students, postdocs is strongly encouraged!

  20. NA1 NA2 NA3 NA4 NA5 PILOT Organisational chart, Stage 1 FP6 NCRIS UNSW ARENA MoU PILOT Science Office Univ. Nice AAL AAAAC ARENA Australian PILOT Project Office AAL = Astronomy Australia Limited

  21. Current status • Contract with Australian DEST under negotiation • Will Saunders appointed as Project Scientist • Peter Gillingham appointed as Project Guru • Applicant for Project Engineer being selected • First meeting of AAAAC held on 22 February 07 • Risk Workshop held at SKM on 23 February 07 • Draft Functional Specification written

  22. The next steps • Appoint Project Manager • Define work packages • Further MoUs and contracts with European teams • Joint DDP program (€600k+ ; 1 year) • Engineering design studies • Prototyping and testing of components • Design Reference Mission (Science) • Critical Design Review • Formal agreement on construction • Construction, deployment and operation!

  23. ...and following a successful Critical Design Review...

  24. PILOT Organisation chart, Stage 2 Aus. DEST Aus. Ant. Astro. European funding sources AAL PILOT Board AAAAC European PILOT Science Office PILOT Office Australian PILOT Science Office

  25. UNSW team: Michael Ashley, Colin Bonner, Tui Britton, Michael Burton, Jessie Christiansen, Jon Everett, Shane Hengst, Balt Indermuehle, Suzanne Kenyon, Jon Lawrence, Daniel Luong-Van, John Storey. Image: David A. Hardy

  26. M.C.B. Ashley, M.G. Burton, J.S. Lawrence & J.W.V. Storey, Robotic telescopes on the Antarctic plateau, Astronomische Nachrichten, 325, (2004), 619 – 625. See also: A.M. Fowler, N. Sharp, W. Ball, A.E.T. Schinckel, M.C.B. Ashley, M. Boccas, J.W.V. Storey, D. Depoy, P. Martini, D.A. Harper and R.D. Marks, ABU/SPIREX: The South Pole Thermal IR Experiment, Proc SPIE, (1998), 3354, 1170 – 1178. Image: Jon Lawrence

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