Carbon fiber composite Dish Verification Antenna

The DVA-1 project in Canada is progressing on many fronts. The foundation is complete and sits beneath a 3m pile of regolith to post-load the soil. Trenching for power and data is also complete.

To improve surface accuracy the primary and secondary molds have been faired.  Results on the secondary are extremely good with an error of ~.1mm rms from the design shape.

Measurements of the primary are underway and are expected to be < .5mm rms. Fabrication of the secondary reflector began in mid-April, followed by a large scale infusion test panel for the primary reflector. Layup and infusion of the primary reflector should be complete by July. Steady progress is being made on the telescope pedestal by Matt Fleming’s team at Minex Engineering in California. With the major pieces complete, work is focused on integrating parts and measuring performance. Other subcontractors such as Profile Composites, FormaShape, and Vectorworks Marine are respectively fabricating sub-components such as carbon feed legs, composite backing pieces, and dish rim connectors.  Integration of DVA1 assemblies will begin in early summer with testing expected to begin in the fall. More information: www.skatelescope.org