John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences

News and information from the UND John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences.

Construction update

During this past week, the Small Radio Telescope was repaired with the help of Dr. Michael Cobb, from CassiCorp, Inc. Several components were replaced that had failed. The SRT will be tested in a few days, followed by observing by UND Space Studies students taking SpSt 570: Introduction to radio astronomy during the Summer 2008 session.

Also, Internet Observatory #3 construction is proceeding. The pier and Paramount, along with Losmandy dovetail connections for the optical tube, were installed. The Paramount was tested and appears to be functional. The optical tube will be installed next week, followed by attachment of the Apogee CCD/filters. First light is expected by August 1.

Finally, equipment has been purchased for Internet Observatory #2, which will be installed today.

All four observatories will be operational by August 1.