Completion of the Large Binocular Telescope enclosure

The Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) under construction on Mount Graham, Arizona is a unique instrument, which supports two 8.4-meter primary mirrors on the same mount. The telescope mirrors will provide a collecting area equivalent to an 11.8 circular aperture plus a diffraction baseline of 22.8 meters. This unique instrument presented new enclosure challenges and configurations in order to accommodate the Owner’s design, telescope operating criteria and budget. The LBT enclosure completed in the summer of 2002 provides useful information on the planning, designing and construction of a telescope enclosure. The use of a team approach by the contractors, engineers, and project office has been successful in maintaining quality construction at a reasonable price. This paper discusses the various systems implemented on the LBT enclosure and the lessons learned during the course of the design and construction.