Moving a storage container is a tricky process, and it’s even trickier when it’s 4 containers holding a lidar transmitter and 3 massive telescopes!
One of our lidar systems has been housed on NOAA’s Table Mountain site for years, but we were finally able to move it to a more accessible location on campus, meaning we can begin restoring that lidar in preparation for its move to a more permanent location at Rocky Flats.
In preparation for this move, the lidar team members spent weeks securing the optical tables, lidar power supplies, computers, and telescopes to prevent shifting during transport. We got a lot of great help from Matt Rhode and Nate Coyle from the Aerospace Department in securing the optical tables to the frame of the containers.
At this new location, we have AC, heat, and enough power to test most of the systems, however the sky above the on-campus location is too bright for actual lidar data collection! For that, we will continue to wait for the final location off-campus to be prepared for our containers, with an expected move in 2023.
This lidar will be used in support of a rocket campaign out of Wallops Island slated for fall 2023, so we are working on many refurbishment and upgrade tasks related to this lidar that we will provide updates on as they occur!
