Telescope performance verification

Gerhard P. Swart; David A. H. Buckley

doi:10.1117/12.551360

16 September 2004 Telescope performance verification

Proceedings Volume 5497, Modeling and Systems Engineering for Astronomy; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.551360
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2004, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

While Systems Engineering appears to be widely applied on the very large telescopes, it is lacking in the development of many of the medium and small telescopes currently in progress. The latter projects rely heavily on the experience of the project team, verbal requirements and conjecture based on the successes and failures of other telescopes. Furthermore, it is considered an unaffordable luxury to "close-the-loop" by carefully analysing and documenting the requirements and then verifying the telescope's compliance with them. In this paper the authors contend that a Systems Engineering approach is a keystone in the development of any telescope and that verification of the telescope's performance is not only an important management tool but also forms the basis upon which successful telescope operation can be built. The development of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) has followed such an approach and is now in the verification phase of its development. Parts of the SALT verification process will be discussed in some detail to illustrate the suitability of this approach, including oversight by the telescope shareholders, recording of requirements and results, design verification and performance testing. Initial test results will be presented where appropriate.

Citation Download Citation

Gerhard P. Swart and David A. H. Buckley "Telescope performance verification", Proc. SPIE 5497, Modeling and Systems Engineering for Astronomy, (16 September 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.551360

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