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2018 in Review

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

December 11, 2018 - It’s hard to believe another calendar year is drawing to a close! 2018 was jam-packed with activity for LSST, so it’s no wonder the year seemed to pass in a flash. Here’s a look back at some of the major accomplishments and milestones the LSST Project celebrated this year:

March 2018 - LSST took occupancy of the Cerro Pachón summit facility building


March, 2018 - The international portion of the fiber-optic data transfer network was completed


April, 2018 - The Auxiliary Telescope for LSST was installed on Cerro Pachón

July, 2018 - The LSST Camera cryostat assembly was completed

  

August, 2018 - The highest attended LSST Project & Community Workshop was held in Tucson

October, 2018 - The LSST Primary/Tertiary Mirror (M1M3) and Cell arrived at the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab in Tucson

November, 2018 - The LSST Coating Chamber arrived on Cerro Pachón

December, 2018 - The L1 lens for the LSST Camera was coated by Safran Reosc in France

December, 2018 - The Telescope Mount Assembly (TMA) finished Factory Acceptance Testing at Asturfeito in Spain, and is now ready for disassembly and shipping to Chile.

The LSST Secondary Mirror (M2) also arrived in Chile on December 7th, and will reach Cerro Pachon before the end of the year. What’s in store for 2019? Delivery of more critical pieces of equipment to the summit, including the Telescope Mount Assembly and M1M3 Mirror and Cell Assembly; coating of the Secondary Mirror (M2) on the summit; progress towards determining the LSST observing cadence; and much more. Visit lsst.org and follow LSST on social media for the latest updates!

Financial support for Rubin Observatory comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through Cooperative Agreement No. 1258333, the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science under Contract No. DE-AC02-76SF00515, and private funding raised by the LSST Corporation. The NSF-funded Rubin Observatory Project Office for construction was established as an operating center under management of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).  The DOE-funded effort to build the Rubin Observatory LSST Camera (LSSTCam) is managed by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC).
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science. NSF supports basic research and people to create knowledge that transforms the future.
NSF and DOE will continue to support Rubin Observatory in its Operations phase. They will also provide support for scientific research with LSST data.   




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