The Dark Energy Survey CCD imager was constructed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and delivered to the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile for installation onto the Blanco 4m telescope. Several efforts are described relating to preparation of the instrument for transport, development and testing of a shipping crate designed to minimize transportation loads transmitted to the camera, and inspection of the imager upon arrival at the observatory. Transportation loads were monitored and are described. For installation of the imager at the telescope prime focus, where it mates with its previously-installed optical corrector, specialized tooling was developed to safely lift, support, and position the vessel. The installation and removal processes were tested on the Telescope Simulator mockup at FNAL, thus minimizing technical and schedule risk for the work performed at CTIO. Final installation of the imager is scheduled for August 2012.

Date Published: 24 September 2012
PDF: 11 pages
Proc. SPIE 8446, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV, 84466J (24 September 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.925390

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8446:
Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy IV
Ian S. McLean; Suzanne K. Ramsay; Hideki Takami, Editor(s)