W.M. Keck Observatory – Large Telescope Operation

ATT has had several opportunities to assist The W.M. Keck Observatory, located on the Big Island of Hawaii, with their large telescope operation. Frederic H. Chaffee, Director, wrote:

“On behalf of the Keck Observatory, I wish to thank you and ATT Metrology Solutions for the donation of services to our organization. The measurements that ATT provided are unique and will be quite valuable for many aspects of our operation. We understand that ATT had to overcome many challenges to make the 80,000 measurements with a high degree of accuracy. Among the challenges were the difficult geometry of the basement and the interferometer beam combination facility.”

“This facility has many obstructions, but the combination of your equipment and the ingenuity of your staff overcame the difficulties. In addition, significant work was involved in making accurate calibrations in the cold temperature of the telescope domes – we cool the domes to the nighttime temperature of 32 – 35 degrees F…We had all planned on the job taking a period of 4 weeks. ATT was able to complete all measurements in less than 3 weeks – a combination of skill and hard work.”