TSU 2-m AUTOMATIC SPECTROSCOPIC TELESCOPE PROJECT


                          Monthly Report for November, 2000



     This monthly report for the TSU 2-m AST project, now liberated from the 
hubris of NASA Code S, covers the calendar month of November, 2000.  The first part 
of the report (I) discusses what we did with the expected highlights identified in 
last month's report; the second section (II-III) covers the status of various tasks 
in the schedule; and a third part (IV) gives highlights for December.  During 
November, 2000, we continued to have one part-time employee (Mike Williamson) working 
at TSU on the telescope program, in computer programming and electronic 
instrumentation, in addition to M. Krebs and M. Wells, who provide machining work 
at their private shops.  Because we still do not have the secondary mirror back 
from refiguring, and because of the Thankgiving holidays, we decided not to go 
out to Arizona in November, but to wait until early December.  


                          I. HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE PAST MONTH

During November, 2000, we said we expect to do the following things, most of which 
have to do with testing the telescope in Arizona [with steps taken on them in brackets].
(1) to modify the telescope's base skirt to provide an access hole through it and to 
cut it off to a uniform height that will not rub the base, [We cut the skirt off in 
early November on a short visit, having marked it in October, and laid out the access 
hole at the same time.  We made the cover plate in Nashville and will install it in 
early December.] (2) to obtain everything we need to move the control console for 
tests into the control building, [We obtained cables and a video camera to monitor the 
telescope in operation.  We will install this stuff during the first week in December.]
(3) to obtain material for finishing the secondary oil-return system (now manual, via 
a pan), for putting louvers into the pump house, and for finishing the air sucker for 
the telescope and to send all this stuff out to Fairborn Observatory, [We obtained all 
this stuff in November and will install it in early December.]  (4) to finish fitting 
together and testing the secondary mirror cell and instrument head as systems and 
decide how to get them out to the observatory, [We conducted numerous tests on these 
systems, modified them so the motions are smooth, and rebuilt the camera mount for 
the guiding head.  We will either take these parts to the observatory in a car or 
send them by UPS in dedicated boxes.] (5) with the help of NASA MSFC, to continue 
bugging Torus Optics to finish refiguring the secondary mirror, [M. Busby of TSU and 
Roy Young of MSFC have been working diligently on this task, and Torus assures us the 
mirror will be delivered by Christmas, in time to put it into the telescope in 
January.  We are exceedingly grateful to MSFC for help with this matter.] (6) to 
continue assembling the mounts for the spectrograph optics and design the jigs for 
assembling the components in them, [We have finished the mount for the two reimaging 
mirrors (one the collimator) and have assembled them to the point of starting to put 
the optical elements into them.  We also acquired cement for attaching at least some 
of the pucks.] (7) to take delivery of the computer for the CCD controller for the 
spectrograph and send it to SDSU, [We finally got this computer, after a Snafu with 
the purchase order and sent it on to SDSU in late November.] and (8) to continue 
procuring the material and services for constructing the camera for the spectrograph 
with the aid of Harland Epps. [We have taken delivery of all the glass for the 
camera except one element, which was due in late November.  A. Schier has finished 
a preliminary version of the lens barrel and devices for integrating it with the 
dewar.]


                               II. ENCLOSURES

     Sierrita Mining placed a wide (10-ft) shipping container on site for us to 
use for storage and put the pallets for the fork and top end structure and the box 
for the primary mirror in it.  Sierrita has also finished temporarily sealing cracks 
in the control building around the doors designed to open for adding large equipment.



                               III. CONTROL SYSTEM

     Williamson has continued to make progress on writing the control system for 
running the telescope.  This month he rechecked the routines for correcting star 
positions for precession, nutation, and aberration, finding a logical error in the
correction for nutation.  He also finished integrating the climate sensors (for 
temperature, humidity, and pressure) into the control system.  We expect these 
improvements will give much better pointing when we test the telescope again in 
early December.  He also spent considerable time in November testing the motions 
in the secondary mirror cell and instrument head and wrote routines for translating 
and tilting the secondary mirror.  Potential problems to correct before or during 
that next work session in Arizona are finishing integrating the mount model into 
the control program and changing PID constants for slewing to eliminate slight 
vibrations at certain positions of the drives.  He should also have improved the 
routines for the guide camera.  



                          IV. HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE NEXT MONTH

During December, 2000, we expect resume work at the observatory with tasks designed 
essentially to finish most mechanical modification of the telescope and its 
buildings and to further test the control system.  We also expect to continue 
progress on the spectrograph.  Specifically, we expect (1) to finish modifying the 
telescope's base skirt and evacuation system (air sucker) and to put these parts 
permanently onto the telescope, (2) to move the control console for tests into the 
control building,  (3) to finishing the secondary oil-return system, rewire the 
primary pumps for 220V, and  put louvers into the pump house for the evacuation system, 
(4) to finish fitting together and testing the secondary mirror cell and instrument 
head as systems and decide how to get them out to the observatory, (5) to take delivery 
of the secondary mirror, which has been at Torus Optics for refiguring, (6) to continue 
assembling the mounts for the spectrograph optics by integrating the optical elements 
into them, (7) to take delivery of the CCD controller for the spectrograph from SDSU, 
and (8) to continue procuring the material and services for constructing the camera 
for the spectrograph with the aid of Harland Epps.