Extremely Large Telescope

UK involvement in the ELT

The Telescope  The Science

URS Case Study

For almost 10 years now, URS has had the privilege of working with the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the most significant light spectrum observatory organisation in the world. Our work has included two observatory projects, promoted from the Munich centre and built in Chile including the Very Large Telescope project.

Arising out of this work, we were appointed by the ESO to provide technical services for a €1B programme to create the European-Extremely Large Telescope. The E-ELT, situated on one of the world’s best astronomical sites, the Cerro Armazones, will become the largest visible spectrum telescope ever constructed.

Virgin Galactic Spaceport Terminal. Image Courtesy of Neil Young, Fosters and Partners.URS’ services to date have comprised a technical advisory role including geotechnical, contracts, roads and platform advice along with a review of the geotechnical site investigation. Key challenges on this scheme included:

  • Investigating and implementing national and local standards. The project is led from Europe and the site is in Chile requiring the use of both national and local standards. The national Chilean codes were unfamiliar to some of the team who had to investigate and understand these standards prior to assessing and implementing them within the design services.
  • The ground conditions of the site are a major challenge for the design teams. The E-ELT is sited on the top of a steep mountain in the Cerro Armazones consisting of very hard rock. The top of the mountain needs to be removed to create a working platform and tracks constructed to access this platform. Optimum excavation was very important to minimise difficult rock excavations.
  • Health and Safety is always a fundamental aspect of URS’ services and the E-ELT provided some unique health and safety challenges, particularly considering working conditions. The site is in a desert at high altitude resulting in extreme working conditions.
  • As a multinational project there are multi-lingual issues involved. URS’ varied and talented workforce includes skilled bi-lingual professionals which enhanced cross-nation communications and eliminated any communication barriers or delays.

URS Corporation is a leading provider of engineering, construction and technical services for public agencies and private sector companies around the world. We have the capabilities to support every stage of the project lifecycle from inception through to start-up and operation, as well as decommissioning and closure.

We have been involved in some of the world’s most exciting and challenging projects including the world’s first commercial spaceport in southern New Mexico and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Florida.

URS provided Civil, Structural, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering design services, as well as overall Project Management for the terminal/hangar building at the Spaceport America. This uniquely designed building houses a 45,000ft2 drive-through hanger and a 14,000 ft2 maintenance area. These facilities will house two mother ships and five rocket-powered space vehicles that will ferry passengers to suborbital space. The energy-efficient building meets the LEED gold standard for environmental quality. A key sustainable design feature is the underground heating and cooling system, which reduces heating and cooling demand by 41%.

NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center covers more than 567km2 and employs approximately 13,000 people. URS has helped manage the site for a number of years and provides a wide range of services to support both launch activities and daily operations at the site. URS’ work includes operating and maintaining facilities, transportation systems, utilities and equipment at the site. It also manages environmental and health and safety functions to help maintain compliance with local, state and national regulations. URS’ dedicated team of nearly 1,200 engineers, technicians and scientists work with NASA technical advisors to help meet the challenges of the US space programme. Its wide range of expertise helps keep the centre running smoothly – through routine day-to-day operations, as well as the high-profile activities leading up to, during and following a space launch.

These projects, along with our work on the E-ELT, are of global significance and are demonstrable of the technical excellence and passion of our team in creating bespoke solutions for very complex design challenges.

URS Website: www.urs.com