DKIST’s journey of using a laser tracker
Short abstract:
This paper presents the journey taken by members of the team at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) in using a laser tracker. The construction and alignment of a large telescope system is a complex and challenging process. During this project we transitioned from using survey equipment to lay the foundation and supporting structure to using a laser tracker to install and align the telescope systems. In this paper, we present how our use of the laser tracker evolved over that time and how that improved knowledge allowed us to achieve the needed alignment between the enclosure, the telescope mount, the coudé mount, and all the optics in between.
