AASTA Observatory
Refurbishment Activities, 1996-2006
AASTA was borne in large part to manage and operate the 0.8-meter telescope and enable its use as a tool for science education. Because of its remote location, the telescope would need to be configured so that it could be used remotely, over the Internet. This also meant a great deal of work to get it to the point that it could be used in this way. Hardware incompatible with its new role would need to be removed and excessed; the remainder would need to be refurbished to operational quality, involving a great deal of mechanical and electrical work. Moreover, no commercial market exists that directly supports telescopes of this size; the collection of hardware devices that effect its operation is unique to this instrument.
Despite the challenges, the team of dedicated and very talented individuals, working entirely as volunteers on behalf of AASTA, has made tremendous progress. Below are some of the major tasks that the volunteers have accomplished.
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Replaced the stepper-motor drive system with a high-quality servo-controlled motor system
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Refurbished the optical encoders on each of the two axes of the telescope to provide precise positional information
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Identified, purchased, and installed an industrial-grade rack-mount computer (plus expansion cards) for controlling the telescope and its subsystems
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Cleaned the mechanical and optical components of the telescope, and repaired the neoprene sealing on the dome
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Redesigned the secondary mirror focus motor control
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Upgraded the power to the dome, to accommodate the increased electrical demand of the new control systems
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Designed and built a digital hand-paddle to enable local operation of the telescope by an observer at the eyepiece
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Installed a fiber-optic computer network and 11 Mbps and 256 kBaud radio-modem computer links to the PNNL, 17 miles away
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Designed and developed software for interacting with the various systems, and integrating their behavior into a comprehensive control and automation system, with object selection and quick access to positional and other information from on-line star catalogues
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Replaced the mechanically operated dome control system with one that can be computer controlled
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Identified and purchased various optical elements (eyepieces, focuser, etc.) for local use at the telescope;
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Identified and purchased a digital (CCD) camera, as well as astronomical video cameras for obtaining images (both static and dynamic) of celestial objects
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The concurrent fundraising and public outreach activities supported the purchase of equipment, provided for teacher and student stipends, and paid the annual insurance bill. We received cash and equipment grants from corporations such as Microsoft, Battelle, Hewlett-Packard, Numatec, and Bechtel-Hanford. We also received cash donations from over 300 members of the local community. We hosted scores of tours at the observatory (as seen at right), each involving a couple dozen individuals, and made many presentations to school, church, and community groups.
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Further Reading
