W.M. Keck Telescope Enclosure

Overview

Dynamic Structures was responsible for designing enclosures for the twin Keck 10-meter telescopes to be constructed on the Mauna Kea summit, at a 13,978 ft. elevation, on the island of Hawaii.

For more information on KECK see http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu/

Challenge

These telescopes are presently the largest ground-based telescopes on earth. To move forward with the enclosures, new design approaches were required. Our engineers had to understand and shape the designs around the mandate of protecting the telescopes thermally and dynamically.

Solution

We used experience gained in constructing other enclosures as the fundamental building block for the basic design. To minimize the enclosure diameter and thus thermal inertia, a new style of up-and-over shutters was designed. Bogies that support the 750-ton structure were designed to be self-steering in order to compensate for thermal changes in the enclosure shape.

Outcome

The Keck twin telescopes have high-precision instruments resulting from the very best creative thinking in all aspects of design and construction, and continue to be the world's cutting-edge telescopes. Many incredible astronomical discoveries have been made possible because of these telescopes.

Why Dynamic Structures

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Taking Challenges Head On

A total solutions provider with complete design-and-build capabilities, Dynamic Structures takes complex problems and applies unique solutions. We offer turnkey solutions or can bring our world skills to your doorstep at any point in the life cycle of your project. >> Learn More