TMT Timeline
Our goal is to construct the Thirty Meter Telescope and bring
it into operation in the next decade. The astronomy community, through
its "decadal survey"
of astronomy in 2001, called for this as the highest-priority large
new project for ground-based astronomy.
By accomplishing this goal, TMT will be able to operate
at the same time as the James Webb Space Telescope, due
to be launched about 2013. Thus, TMT would be able to work
in a complementary way with the Webb telescope, just as
the Keck observatory has worked with the Hubble Space Telescope,
combining the different discovery and study capabilities
of each system.
We are now in a design and development phase intended to bring
the TMT project to readiness to start construction as early as
2009, depending upon the availability of construction funding
from public and private sources.
Assuming that our funding is received when needed, our pace is
set by technology development and design, here is the current
project timeline:
| Recent Past |
| Project
partnership between ACURA, Caltech and UC formed |
June
2003 |
| Moore
Foundation awards $35 million for design work in two
awards to Caltech/UC |
October
and December 2003 |
| Project
Office established in Pasadena |
April
2004 |
| Science
Requirements Document adopted by project |
June 2004 |
| Telescope
Reference Design established |
October
2004 |
| Adaptive
Optics and Instrument Reference Design established |
November
2004 |
| Call for
astronomy community proposals for TMT instruments |
February
2005 |
| ACURA
awarded $10 million Canadian for design of TMT |
February
2005 |
| Instrument
proposals reviewed |
March
2006 |
| Conceptual
Design Review passed |
May 2006 |
| Cost Review
passed |
September
2006 |
| Construction/Preconstruction
Phase Proposal Review |
June 2007 |
| Site Testing
Review |
July 2007 |
| Future |
| Preliminary
Design Review |
June
2009 |
| Final
Design/Construction Readiness Review |
June 2010 |
| TMT First
Light With Full Primary Mirror |
October
2017 |
| First
science |
June 2018 |
|
