Upgrades

On my return to BIT-land (after needing to spend a few days in Princeton) I find everything disassembled in preparation for upgrades: mainly to the rigidity of the mounting of the inner frame, the telescope inside the inner frame, and the optics box on the backside of the telescope. Plus installing some electronics like the new heater control box, fine guidance controller, and shiny new gyroscopes.

Various bits of SuperBIT

The major pieces are spread around the highbay

The optics box is open for upgrades

John ponders what he wants to do

Javier surevys his domain

The various computers on top of the telescope

Motor controllers and cables

All attached to BIT's outer frame

The fake star/collimator telescope

Stashed in a corner until needed again

Michael and Bryce become more attached to BIT

By attaching new components to the inner frame

Bolt fishing

Trying to retrieve a loose screw

John strengthens the inner frame to telescope connection

Bryce carefully cuts corners and drills out steel support brackets

Installed bracket, holding the optics box more rigidly to the telescope

Finished changes

Four new supports, and the black fine guidance controller box moved above

New gyroscope attached to top left of inner frame

Another will be on the top face of the fame

Angle bracket graveyard

The carnage Bryce leaves in his wake

The optics box is: OPEN

Telescope installed in the middle and outer boats/frames

Also a dinosaur

Javier reaches the limits of his sanity

Dealing with awkward, hard to turn screws

John peeks through the giant telescope

Javier and John working on mirror alignment

The telescocpe and I

I take a look at the alignment results

Laser alignment

The light goes out through the telescope mirrors and bounces back to where it started. This means everything is (roughly) aligned!