Completion of the Design and Project Development Phases for Construction Readiness of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST)

该奖项支持继续设计和开发超大型天文相机LSST(大型天气观测望远镜)。LSST将是一个直径8.4米的高性能光学望远镜，配备一个30亿像素的数码相机，位于智利塞罗帕雄的一个偏远、黑暗的山区。该项目是包括能源部(DOE)在内的许多机构的合作项目，已经从大量的私人投资(3000万美元)中受益。LSST项目已经与其他机构和行业建立了合作伙伴关系：(I)能源部的几个实验室正在为相机的研发提供资金，并将为其建设寻求能源部的资金。(2)国家超级计算应用中心在LSST研究和开发阶段提供人力和高性能计算机资源。(3)私人捐助使一次镜和三次镜得以铸造和抛光，这些镜将在普通的硼硅酸盐蜂窝衬底上。(4)在天文学和高能物理的众多领域中，许多大学研究人员正在为发展科学案例、望远镜设计和详细的操作模拟提供专业知识。(V)国家光学天文台(NOAO)在制定望远镜设计和误差预算以及支持科学工作组的活动方面发挥着主导作用。LSST硬件和软件的综合设计和运行模型以及成本估算将在本次颁奖初期提供，并将构成NSF进行的初步设计审查(PDR)的基础。如果PDR成功通过，该项目将进入最后设计阶段。在这一阶段，将为LSST的建设阶段奠定科学、技术和管理基础，特别注意继续降低和减少风险。LSST的更广泛影响将是深远的，因为世界各地的科学家、公众和学童将随时可以访问这些数据。设计和开发活动包括1)培训和教育各级人员，将最先进的计算科学与天体物理学相结合；2)利用现有的LSST先驱项目，推动实时数据库模式和公共访问工具方面的最先进技术；以及3)开发和完善LSST教育和推广计划，这将在短期内为K-成人教育带来红利。此外，社区将看到LSST与国家安全领域正在开发的其他成像系统和软件的需求之间存在显著的技术重叠。

This award supports the continuing design and development of a very large celestial camera, the LSST (Large Synoptic Survey Telescope). The LSST will be an 8.4-m diameter, high-performance optical telescope outfitted with a three billion pixel digital camera to be located on a remote, dark, mountain site, at Cerro Pachon, Chile. The project is a collaboration of a large number of institutions, including the Department of Energy (DOE), and has already benefited from a substantial amount of private investment ($30M).The LSST Project has established partnerships with other agencies and industry: (i) Several Department of Energy laboratories are funding R&D for the design of the camera and will seek DOE funding for its construction. (ii) The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is providing manpower and high performance computer resources during the LSST research and development phase. (iii) Private contributions have enabled the casting and polishing of the primary and tertiary mirrors which will be on a common borosilicate honeycomb substrate. (iv) Many university-based researchers in fields that cut across numerous fields of astronomy and high energy physics are contributing expertise to develop the science case, telescope design, and detailed operations simulations. (v) The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) is playing a lead role in developing the telescope design and error budget, as well as supporting the activities of the Science Working Group.Despite the title, this is not in fact the Final Design Phase. A comprehensive design and operations model, with cost estimates, for both the LSST hardware and software will be provided early on during this award, and will form the basis for an NSF-conducted Preliminary Design Review (PDR). If the PDR is passed successfully, the project will then enter its final design phase. The scientific, technical, and managerial groundwork for the construction phase of the LSST will be laid during this phase with particular attention paid to continued reduction and retirement of risk.The broader impacts of the LSST will be profound, as scientists, the public, and schoolchildren around the world will have ready access to the data. Design and development activities include 1) the training and education of personnel at all levels, integrating state-of-the-art computational science with astrophysics; 2) using existing LSST precursor projects to advance the state-of-the-art in real-time database schema and public access tools; and 3) developing and refining an LSST education and outreach program that will pay near-term dividends in K-adult education. In addition, the community will see significant technical overlap between the LSST and the needs of other imaging systems and software under development in the national security arena.