Gemini North Primary Mirror Status: 31 March 2023

We are happy to report that the Gemini North primary mirror repair team has reached another important milestone. On Friday 24 March the team attached a new lateral support attachment pad on the primary mirror, replacing the one removed by REOSC a few weeks ago. We are closely monitoring the temperature and position of the attachment pad while the epoxy cures over the next 8 days.

The team has been preparing for this step for the last several weeks, including dress rehearsals of attaching the pad in the correct location within tolerance, additional simulations and tests for maintaining the correct temperature of the glass and metal, and preparation of witness samples.

This week the team is conducting an internal readiness review for the primary mirror stripping, coating, and reinstallation. This work is planned to begin on 17 April. Our current schedule has our return to science operations in mid-May. 

Continuing updates will be posted on both the NOIRLab and Gemini websites.