W. M. Keck Telescope Enclosure

Overview

Dynamic Structures was responsible for designing enclosures for the twin Keck 10-meter telescopes to be constructed on the Mauna Kea summit, at a 13,978 ft. elevation, on the island of Hawaii.

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Challenge

These telescopes are presently the largest ground-based telescopes on earth. To move forward with the enclosures, new design approaches were required. Our engineers had to understand and shape the designs around the mandate of protecting the telescopes thermally and dynamically.

Solution

We used experience gained in constructing other enclosures as the fundamental building block for the basic design. To minimize the enclosure diameter and thus thermal inertia, a new style of up-and-over shutters was designed. Bogies that support the 750-ton structure were designed to be self-steering in order to compensate for thermal changes in the enclosure shape.

"The success of the project is a testament to the dedication, perserverance and long, hard hours of work provided by Dynamic Structures. Amgen and Skanska recognize and truly appreciate everything it took to make Helix what it is today - a world-class biotechnology research and development center."

Brian Horman, Amgen Inc.