Servo system commissioning of MACE Telescope

Precise Servo System is back bone of any large Telescope, which enables the telescope to look at the intended target accurately and continuously. MACE servo system enables the 22M basket comprising of 356 mirror panels to move in AZ and EL to cover the entire hemisphere. Servo system has been designed to meet the pointing and tracking accuracy requirements of 1 arc sec under the maximum tracking velocity of 0.5 deg/sec and a tracking acceleration of 0.02 deg/sec² under 30Kmph wind conditions. Installation site for the MACE telescope has played a major role in servo component selection, since the operating conditions include negative temperature, low atmospheric pressure and high altitude. To avoid the double conversion losses, drive unit is designed to operate directly from the battery bank which is charged from Solar power. To minimise the cable length and to pass minimum number of cables from cable wrap, both TCU and TDU racks have been put in a cabin, mounted on the alidade structure. Active mirror alignment and control system (AMCS) steers all 356 mirror panels independently to concentrate the light on the camera plane by recreating the parabolic shape of the reflector dish under gravity droop. Servo system is designed for an unmanned site, so MACE telescope can be operated from any place in remote operation mode. Talk will include the Servo system commissioning during Proof assembly at ECIL vis a vis at Hanle site and Telescope trial run and servo performance results in detail. (author)