We present the verification procedure for the 1.4 meter primary mirrors of the Magdalena Ridge Observatory
Interferometer (MROI). Six mirrors are in mass production at Optical Surface Technologies (OST) in Albuquerque.
The six identical parabolic mirrors will have a radius of curvature of 6300 mm and a final surface wavefront quality of
29 nm rms.
The mirrors will be tested in a tower using a computer generated hologram, and the Intellium™ H2000 interferometer
from Engineering Synthesis Design, Inc. (ESDI). The mirror fabrication activities are currently in the early stage of
polishing and have already delivered some promising results with the interferometer. A complex passive whiffle tree
has been designed and fabricated by Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems (AMOS, Belgium) that takes into
account the gravity loading for an alt-alt mount. The final testing of the primary mirrors will be completed with the
mirror cells that will be used in the telescopes.
In addition we report on shear tests performed on the mirror cell pads on the back of the primary mirrors. These pads are
glued to the mirror. The shear test has demonstrated that the glue can withstand at least 4.9 kilo Newton. This is within
the requirements.
We report on the design, application, and testing of custom protected silver and aluminum coatings for use on the Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometers (MROI) unit telescopes. The coatings were designed by Optical Surface Technologies (OST), and tested under normal observational conditions on Magdalena Ridge. Mirror coating samples fabricated by OST were given to MRO, and then placed in an insulated automated enclosure at the observatory site. Within the enclosure, environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity were continuously monitored. The automated enclosure was instructed to open during the night dependent upon weather conditions matching those that would occur under normal operations of the interferometer. This paper tracks the affect of the Magdalena Ridge environment on the performance of the coatings, specifically with regards to reflectivity.
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