To record, through high-precision images, the entire sky visible from planet Earth. This is the objective of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), an ambitious international project in which IK4-TEKNIKER has a prominent role.
The technology center's expertise in ultra-precision technology has allowed it to position itself in recent years as a leading supplier for major international scientific facilities. In this context, the LSST represents a significant challenge for the center, as it requires the use of cutting-edge technology in control and safety systems.
In collaboration with the engineering firm GHESA-Empresarios Agrupados, which is responsible for developing the main structure of the telescope, IK4-TEKNIKER will carry out the design and development of the control systems, safety, camera cable rotation and mirror protection cover of this large state-of-the-art scientific facility.
The main difficulty that the researchers at the center must face lies in the high precision and dynamics required by the movements of the main axes (azimuth and elevation) of the telescope, which have been custom-designed for this project.
The objective is to photograph different areas of visible space in the shortest possible time. To achieve this, the control system must be able to dampen the vibrations produced by the movement of these axes as quickly as possible and then immediately photograph the targeted area.
In addition to the control system, IK4-TEKNIKER is developing a safety device to ensure the telescope's safe operation, protecting the investment and the safety of the operators. This system monitors travel limits, overspeeds, emergency stop buttons, and the proper functioning of all components.
Within the framework of the project, the technology center also contributes knowledge for the design and development of the camera's cable rotator, a mechatronic device that winds or unwinds all the supplies that the camera needs (power cables, communication cables, fiber optic cables and cooling hoses).
This device, with a rotation range of ±90º, when activated, prevents the camera from having to drag the cables and hoses during its rotation movement, freeing it from suffering any kind of stress and thus ensuring that no disturbance is introduced to the camera.
This device also includes a safety system that ensures that in the event of a synchronization error between the camera rotation and the cable rotator rotation greater than 3º, the control system will be able to act to ensure the integrity of the entire system.
IK4-TEKNIKER is also responsible for the movable protective cover of the main mirrors by designing another novel mechatronic system intended to preserve the optics against falling objects, rain or dust.
LSST will be a telescope with an 8.4-meter diameter mirror (the width of a tennis court) capable of surveying the entire visible sky. It will be equipped to scan the sky every three or four nights, producing an image 40 times larger than a full moon thanks to a 3,200-megapixel digital camera. The telescope, located at an altitude of 2,700 meters, will analyze the images in real time and will be able to detect any significant variations, from supernova explosions elsewhere in the universe to asteroids that could impact Earth.
The construction of the telescope, which is expected to be operational in 2020 at Cerro Pachón in the Chilean Atacama Desert, has an approximate cost of 700 million dollars and is the result of close public-private collaboration, as well as a hundred astronomers, physicists and engineers working together to make a reality of equipment that will allow a giant leap in the knowledge of the workings of the stars.

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