There are a lot of things to do (Laurent Jocou, Karine Perraut (IPAG), Michael Wiest (UoC), Guy Perrin (Paris), Stefan Gillessen, Angela Rief, Frank Eisenhauer (MPE))
This electronic box will be mounted on the centre piece of each AT. It host the control electronic for the four metrology receivers and the four pupil guiding launchers.
One AT fully equipped with four metrology receivers, four guiding launchers and electronic box
July 21, 2015
The GRAVITY Beam Combiner Instrument has Arrived in the New Integration Hall on Paranal
February 18, 2016
CIAO #1 arrived at Paranal
The first infrared wavefront sensor CIAO arrived at Paranal
October 03, 2015
The Beam Combiner Instrument installed in the VLTI lab
October 02, 2015
The Beam Combiner Instrument on its way into the VLTI laboratory
July 22, 2015
System is back in operation in the New Integration Hall at Paranal
The Installation Team
The Installation Team
July 19, 2015
Leak-testing with Gerd
July 16, 2015
Unpacking of the six electronic cabinets
July 16, 2015
Transfer of the BCI cryostat box
July 16, 2015
Unpacking of the cryostat
July 16, 2015
Movement into the New Integration Hall
July 16, 2015
Everything still there
July 15, 2015
The Beam Combiner Instrument arrived at Paranal
17 boxes / 12,5 tonnes / 74 m^3
May 21, 2015
Alignment of AT units with ESO laser tracker
With the great help of Samuel Leveque (ESO)
July 25, 2013
First fringe-tracking in lab!
July 29, 2013
First completely equipped UT: four guiding launchers/four metrology receivers/one electronic box
July 29, 2013
First cabled electronic box at UT1 (only test cabling)
July 25, 2013
First two units installed at UT1 (the small black dots on the spider ...)
July 25, 2013
Perfect Paranal support (by Eloy Fuenteseca)
July 25, 2013
First installed guiding launcher at UT1
July 25, 2013
First installed metrology receiver at UT1
July 23, 2013
First fringes in lab!
July 16, 2013
GRAVITY is sexy (Pierre Fedou, Guy Perrin (Paris), Stefan Kellner (MPE))
July 16, 2013
There are a lot of things to do (Laurent Jocou, Karine Perraut (IPAG), Michael Wiest (UoC), Guy Perrin (Paris), Stefan Gillessen, Angela Rief, Frank Eisenhauer (MPE))
July 19, 2013
Fiber Control Unit installed first time in the cryostat on its support structure, including two fiber couplers
July 15, 2013
Fiber Control Unit with polarization rotators and differential delay lines, by Paris group (removed cover)
July 12, 2013
Delivery of first IO and Fiber Control Unit
June 07, 2013
Front view of cabinet #3
February 27, 2013
Cryostat cool-down can be boring (Frank Haußmann)
July 08, 2013
Transparent Beam Combiner Instrument cryostat
June 24, 2013
Back side of cabinet #6, PLC, TMP control, gauge controller, and cryostat warm-up electronic
June 21, 2013
Installed fringe tracking spectrometer and first fiber coupler in the BCI cryostat
First test of the "small" pulse tube compressor from Thales
May 31, 2013
Pressure reducer to fill the pulse tube cooler with helium gas
May 29, 2013
Pulse tube cooler with installed accelerometer
May 14, 2013
BCI cryostat with calibration unit and dust cover
February 18, 2013
Electronic cabinet cooling water connection
March 06, 2013
Calibration unit chassis
March 04, 2013
Is it interesting or not?
February 27, 2013
Put the unneeded LN2 into the trash can
February 22, 2013
Cooling water distribution panel (one of two)
February 21, 2013
Installing of the pulse tube cooler inside the cryostat (Frank Haußmann, David Huber (MPE))
February 21, 2013
Pulse tube cooler feedthrough for helium gas and cooling water
February 21, 2013
BCI Cryostat liquid nitrogen and exhaust gas connections
February 20, 2013
Cryostat measurement of vacuum vessel lowering caused by vacuum
February 18, 2013
Cryostat control electronic, PLC
February 18, 2013
First integration of pulse tube cooler
February 18, 2013
PLC control panel, done by Lothar Kern (ESO)
February 18, 2013
BCI cryostat control electronic: PLC control electronic, gauge controller and TMP controller
October 09, 2012
Electronic box AT
This electronic box will be mounted on the centre piece of each AT. It host the control electronic for the four metrology receivers and the four pupil guiding launchers.
March 26, 2013
Electric cabinet water cooling controlling
September 18, 2012
Pulse tube cooler prototype
photo taken at University of Giessen This cooler will later cool the Saphira detector to 40K at a cooling load of 2.5W.
September 18, 2012
First pulse tube cooler assembly at manufacture
September 19, 2012
Pulse tube cooler, covered with MLI
May 16, 2012
First uncontrolled cool-down at manufacture
April 11, 2012
First fit-check of vacuum vessel at manufacture
April 11, 2012
Beam Combiner Instrument cryostat, liquid nitrogen tank
Liquid nitrogen tank without MLI before integration in cryostat.
March 22, 2012
Optical bench support joint
March 22, 2012
Optical bench support
The optical bench, made in alumium, is supported by a stainless steel framework.
March 22, 2012
Optical bench support joint
March 22, 2012
Cryostat optical bench
March 05, 2012
Lower cryostat vacuum shell
November 22, 2011
Cryostat support frame weldment, uncoated
November 22, 2011
Welded cryostat vacuum shell at manufacture
January 21, 2011
Metrology injection test setup
January 21, 2011
Metrology injection test setup
July 29, 2010
Testing of the SmarAct ultrasonic actuators for the metrology injection
April 01, 2009
Cryogenic testing of the fiber positioner piezos, test cryostat
April 01, 2009
Cryogenic testing of the fiber positioner piezos, inside test cryostat
April 01, 2009
Cryogenic testing of the fiber positioner piezos, test cryostat (with Stefan Kellner, MPE)
January 01, 2009
UT4, second metrology test campaign
January 01, 2009
UT4, second metrology test campaign
January 01, 2009
Optical train quality measurement by Oliver Pfuhl, MPE
January 01, 2009
Second metrology test campaign, optical alignment (by Hendrik Bartko)
January 01, 2009
Second metrology test campaign, unpacking (by David Moch, MPE)
January 09, 2013
Electronic box AT
January 09, 2013
First guiding launcher mounted on AT spider
January 09, 2013
First metrology receiver mounted on AT spider
January 09, 2013
One AT fully equipped with four metrology receivers, four guiding launchers and electronic box
