Construction Continues on the Discovery Channel Telescope

Facilities construction is nearly complete on the Discovery Channel Telescope Observatory being built for Lowell Observatory in Happy Jack, Arizona. The rotating upper enclosure and aperture shutter operated flawlessly on the first try putting Building & Engineering Contractors Southwest, Inc. in the elite company of only a hand full of Contractors world wide to have successfully built and Observatory Facility of this magnitude.  This project is being executed under a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) contract with assembly of the telescope including controls and instrumentation ongoing and first light projected for the spring of 2011.  Learn more about this exciting project and take a photo tour at www.lowell.edu.  And be sure to watch for the documentary on the Discovery Channel.  The DCT Facility is composed of 3 primary structures: the lower enclosure / telescope base: the upper rotating enclosure and the auxiliary building.  These structures are designed and built to safely house Lowell Observatory's new 4.3 meter telescope along with all support equipment and operational functions/work areas.  The Observatory is located at a very remote, high altitude site with severely limited  access and work area.  Careful planning and creative scheduling, quality control and logistics management enabled BEC to meet the difficult challenges of this highly technical project.