For Immediate Release
Space Elements has entered in to an agreement with Sierra Remote Observatories as the location for installation of the CDK24 telescope.
We are excited to be entering into a partnership with Space Elements and are looking forward to hosting their world-class telescope at our observatory. Sierra Remote Observatories was founded in 2007 and has partnered with several incredible institutes and space industry professionals for remote astronomical imaging, data acquisition, satellite tracking and communications. We are honored to now be able to include Space Elements in that list.”
Keith Quattrocchi – Sierra Remote Observatories
Sierra Remote Observatories (SRO) is uniquely situated on the western edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, about 50 miles South of Yosemite National Park. SRO’s location provides for some of the best seeing conditions in the United States, with an approximate average of 290 clear nights per year. The site rarely experiences inclement weather such as rare thunderstorms or summer monsoons. In addition to these benefits, SRO experiences a FWHM measure of only 1-1.2 arcseconds of seeing, depending on the season (summer / winter). With the site’s position on Bald Mountain in the Sierra National Forrest, SRO has incredibly dark skies measured at 22 magnitudes / sq. arcsecond, V band.
SRO’s infrastructure is centered around the Roll-Off Roof Architecture which features automatic roof control. This enables each observatory to open and close automatically, depending on factors like schedule, wind and weather conditions, or various other risks which are able to be detected through SRO’s telemetry systems. Space Elements has also been provisioned Fiber Optic Internet with 200 mbps duplex, allowing robotic control of their instruments from anywhere in the world.
Selecting Sierra Remote Observatories for our CDK24 will enable us to maximize the use of our professional instrumentation under some of the most optimal conditions in the Northern Hemisphere.
Ira Bell – Founder, Space Elements
The CDK600 Observatory system remains on track to be completed and implemented with a target ‘first light’ timeframe of September 2021.
