

The facility and concrete pier were built by Bradbury and Stamm of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The telescope, gimbal, structure, controls, secondary mirror, and auxiliary path optics were built by Contraves USA in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The telescope sits on a massive steel-reinforced concrete pier weighing more than 7OO tons which is isolated from the rest of the facility and anchored in the bed rock with long steel rods. The telescope, gimbal, optics, and support structures weigh more than 100 tons. The enclosure was built by Coast Steel in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Also, in severe conditions the enclosure can be raised partially to shield the telescope. The effects of wind buffeting are minimized by the telescope's very stiff structure and high-torque motors and by angular acceleration sensors which control fast-steering mirrors designed to optically cancel out the image jitter induced by the wind. This approach has two major advantages over conventional domes with narrow slits: it does not have to be rotated at high speed for satellite tracking, and it provides complete ventilation of the telescope to ambient air which improves the quality of the images. The enclosure is often likened to a collapsing Boy Scout cup. The mirror was installed in August 1993, and first light images were achieved on February 10, 1994.Ī unique feature of the 3.5-meter telescope is the protective enclosure (or dome) consisting of three 9-foot high cylinders each 7O feet in diameter that collapse around the telescope through a 35-foot diameter shuttered opening in the roof. The mirror is supported by 56 computer-controlled actuators to maintain the surface figure while the telescope is moving. The surface is polished to a precision of 21 nanometers, 3,OOO times thinner than a human hair. The lightweight honeycomb sandwich primary mirror weighs 4,5OO pounds and has a one-inch thick glass facesheet. This 3.5-meter telescope uses a spun cast borosilicate primary mirror fabricated and polished by the University of Arizona's Steward observatory Mirror Laboratory in Tucson. The primary mission of the SOR is to develop optical sensing, imaging, and propagation technologies to support Air Force aerospace missions. The SOR is the center for Air Force strategic optical research. The SOR is a world-class optical research facility located on a hilltop site (6,24O feet above sea level) in the southeastern portion of Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. once equipped with adaptive optics, the telescope will be capable of resolving basketball-sized objects 1,OOO miles in space. The telescope has a 3.5-meter (1 l.5 feet) diameter primary mirror and is protected by a unique retracting cylindrical enclosure that allows the telescope to operate in the open air.

Once you've calculated how much glass you need, browse our wide selection of fire glass online.The Air Force Phillips Laboratory at its Starfire optical Range (SOR) has installed the world's largest telescope capable of tracking low earth-orbiting satellites.
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If you would like help using our fire glass calculator, feel free to give us a call at (866) 578-8538. Use the calculator below to best determine how much fire glass you will need for your fireplace or fire pit. Once the fire glass disperses over an area, it doesn’t go as far as one might think. We realize this might seem like a lot, but remember that glass is heavy. This ensures your flame receives enough oxygen. Please note that when using fire glass with propane gas, you should not cover your burner in more than 1" of glass. Simply add the dimensions of the area that you want fire glass in, hit calculate, and our calculator will tell you approximately how much fire glass you will need.Įxample: If your fireplace had a front width (A) of 36", a back width (B) of 24", a depth (C) of 15", and you wanted a 3" height (D) of fire glass to cover the entire fireplace floor, then you would buy about 70 pounds of fire glass. To determine exactly how much fire glass you will need for your fire feature, use our accurate fire glass calculator below. Fireplace & Hearth Accessories Expand submenu.Fireplace Burners & Grates Expand submenu.BBQ Grilling Tools & Accessories Expand submenu.BBQ's & Outdoor Kitchens Expand submenu.Accent Lighting & Water Features Expand submenu.Fire Glass Burner Systems Expand submenu.

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