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THE AMOS/MOTIF OBSERVATORY

The AMOS/MOTIF Observatory is the largest facility in Maui's "Science City"
complex at the 10,000 foot summit of Mt. Haleakala. This Air Force funded optical
facility is located in a climate of clean, dry air, with a minimum of urban light
pollution. Two forty-eight foot diameter white domes house a total of three large
optical telescope systems, while the smaller white domes each house laser beam
directors. The three silver domes are associated with a separate complex called
GEODSS. The large AMOS/MOTIF optical systems, with their resident state-of-the-art
sensors, permit the facility to provide users with high quality data on satellites and other
space objects. The site also provides vital information on the performance of some of
the Free World's newest electro-optical sensor systems. The AMOS/MOTIF Observatory
has become a national asset, ideally situated to perform advanced electro-optical
research and development for various agencies of the Department of Defense during the
critical years to come.

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THE 1.6 METER TELESCOPE

The AMOS 1.6 meter telescope is one of the finest optical telescopes of its size in the world. This Cassegrain system has diffraction-limited optics that are installed on a high performance, three-axis mount. The massive eighty-three ton mount is a standard astronomical equatorial arrangement on an azimuth turntable. The three axes ride on hydraulic bearings and are smoothly and rapidly accelerated by torque motors, to permit continuous tracking of rapidly moving orbital or sub-orbital vehicles. To permit diffraction-limited performance in all operating mount attitudes, the large 1.6 meter parabolic primary mirror is housed in a primary support system that incorporates a mercury belt for radial support and air bags for axial support. The telescope has two instrument mounting surfaces. The rear surface hosts the Compensated Imaging System (CIS), an instrument which represents the state-of-the-art in space object imagery. The CIS employs adaptive optics technology to compensate for atmospheric turbulence-induced distortion of images. The side surface hosts the AMOS Spectral Radiometer, an infrared device used to collect infrared spectral signatures and to provide a test-bed for highly advanced sensitive infrared CCD detector arrays.

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