VTF arrives in Maui/Hawaii - a long journey comes to an end....

The largest project at our institute has entered its final phase. The KIS has developed and built a high-precision measuring instrument for the new 4m solar telescope DKIST on Maui/Hawaii.

After the VTF successfully demonstrated its capabilities in the laboratory at Jakob-Burkhardt-Str. 1 in summer 2023, the dismantling and transport preparations for the instrument began immediately afterwards in August 2023. The VTF team was able to organize the sea and air freight in such a way that all components arrived on time in Maui/Hawaii at the end of 2023. This was a logistical tour de force and all preparations for the integration of the VTF at DKIST have now been completed. In addition, the most sensitive component of the VTF, the first etalon, has already been transported to the DKIST logistics center on Maui/Hawaii in a specially thermally insulated freight box, which is also protected against external shocks.

The complete VTF in the laboratory in Freiburg.
A picture from the VTF laboratory in Freiburg. The frame is already being dismantled.
A picture of the VTF team dismantling the VTF frame in Freiburg.
The metal parts of the VTF frame on a truck trailer.
A pallet with the wooden crates in which the dismantled parts of the VTF are transported.
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