Results 2013

Progress of the project and 2013

The summer was 2013 dedicated to

  1. -the reliability of the system and improvement of installation and adjustment steps that are better controlled and occur more quickly;
  2. -the planning of many developments to realize and test during the winter.

The number of people present on the site has averaged 6 to 8 in July and August.

The facilities have been expanded: installation of an annex tent and a laboratory for electronics, solar electric power increase, dry toilets.

It was not yet possible to observe Vega simultaneously with two mirrors.

  • Cables
    • Ascent/descent of the carrycot procedures are trustworthy and their duration significantly reduced (in the order of time).
    • The risk of blocking of the cables in the larches have become exceptional.
    • Black carrying 800 m long cable is replaced by a more visible orange jacketed cable by birds and also operators (in three sections to facilitate winter dismantling).
    • "Cable West" maneuvers are facilitated and secured by a manual hand crank winch
    • The "West counterweight" is burned.
    • The cable tension is and West has been measured and is controlled manually in order to stabilize the basket during follow-up.
  •  Giant mirror
    • The future 'diluted mirror' is symbolised by two spherical mirrors of 150 mm in diameter and 200 m radius of curvature. Their tripod-mounted and placed on a North-South axis at 16 m one from the other, they have now each of a micrometric adjustment support. Several settings techniques have been developed and tested to precisely adjust their position one over the other and compared to the carrycot.
    • The realization of complementary differential GPS measurements to know with an accuracy of the order of a few centimeters a zone of the Valley enough to position the future 'diluted mirror'.
  • Optical
    • The 2012 carrycot designed two mirrors has been supplemented by various optical accessories intended to facilitate the fine-tuning of its positioning.
    • An optical bench reproducing the 100 m distance ground-nacelle made ground so that users can train day to manipulate various controls for positioning the carrycot.
    • The carrycot has a new power supply rechargeable via solar panel.
    • Various pointing devices laser of the carrycot from the ground have been tested in-situ (viewfinder – laser transmitter?). The beam returned to the South telescope to adjust alignment, that the carrycot is stationary or moving of sidereal tracking. This setting – elbow home acquisition – is now done quickly.
    • The image of the star Vega could be followed for several minutes at the entrance of the carrycot.
    • «Frangeur eyepiece» was made in order to simplify future observations of fringes on Vega with 2 mirrors.
    • Reflections were prosecuted for the achievement of a gondola for N mirrors.
  • Automation
    • The piloting software for Star tracking cables was burned.
    • A graphical user interface facilitates its use.

 

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