Development of the Laser Guide Star Facility (LGSF)

Start year
2021
End year
2023

Grants related:

    General
    Description

    The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the IAC has signed the ERDF Agreement INSIDE-OOCC (8,139 keuros) to guarantee the implementation of 11 actions of the Strategic Plan approved for the Observatorios de Canarias (OOCC) in 2018. A bried summary of the strategic investments for the Laser Guide Star Facility Development (LGSF) are described below:

    Adaptive Optics (AO) systems allow correcting the effects of atmospheric turbulence in the light that comes from scientific object in the sky, to make high spatial resolution observations. AO systems can only operate in regions of the sky where there is a bright star close to the scientific object. To be able to make science with AO anywhere in the sky, it is necessary to generate with a laser an artificial star, which is called a Laser Guide Star. 

    This project includes the specification, design, manufacturing, integration and testing of all the systems that are part of the LGSF, specially the Laser System, the Laser Transfer System, the Laser Launch Telescope, the Launch Structure, the Laser Wavefront Sensor, the Laser Pointing Camera, and the Control and Safety System. the project also includes the System Engineering and the Assembly, Integration and Verification fo the LGSF. This major upgrade is necessary to support the coming era of instruments at the OOCC.

    Principal investigator
    Project manager

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