Stargazing in South Africa
29 Jan 2003
The largest single optical stronomical telescope in the Southern Hemishere is currently being constructed under the clear skies of South Africa's Northern Cape in the hills near Sutherland. The new obsevatory is utilising OCS panels manufactured from Corus materials for protective cladding on structures containing sensitive equipment at this exposed site.
Supplied to customer Atlantis Panels by Corus South Africa, the key feature of the materials sourced from Corus Colors UK for the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) project was the non- reflective performance called for by consultants, Ninham Shand. The 48 tonne, single delivery, package included Colorcoat structured polyester and Stelvetite coil in a range of surface finishes- colours and Ultra Struct. CS. Corus South Africa's relationship with Atlantis has been built over a two- year period during which time they have supplied mainly PPGI as the main material for panels.
The SALT project is immensely important for South Africa. A tilted Arecibo- type optical telescope based on the Hobby Eberly Telescope (HET) in Texas and worth US$30 million it will provide a first class facility for its partners. The SALT Foundation is itself impressive; it brings together a number of leading academic institutes from around the world. Ownership is shared between NRF (South Africa), CAMK (Poland), The University of Goettingen (Germany), Rutgers University, The University of Wisconsin- Madison, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of North Carolina, Dartmouth College (all USA), the University of Canterbury (New Zealand) and The United Kingdom SALT Consortium (UKSC). The HET Board is also participating in the project.
The structure of the dome was lifted into place in July 2002. The next phase includes completion and installation of the shutter as well as the fitting of the panels and seals on the dome. Engineering tests are planned to start by the end of 2003 and the telescope is expected to be fully operational by December 2004.
