04-11-2015, 06:02 AM
quote:
Originally posted by ironyak
- What is the operational status of the current 13 telescopes on Mauna Kea? What's your thoughts on the notion of decomissioning some to make way for new instruments like the TMT?
The elephant in the room is the expiring science reserve master lease, which is scheduled to happen in 2033. If the master lease is not extended, all the telescopes on Mauna Kea will be facing decommissioning between 2025-2033.
If the master lease is extended another 65 years, the current telescope operators will have the option of decommissioning, extending their lease, and extending their lease/upgrading their facilities. In short, there will be several telescopes facing decommissioning, several will extend their lease/ upgrade their facilities. The EIS preparation notice for the 65 year lease extension goes into great detail about this.
As it stands now, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory is the only telescope facing decommissioning between 2016-2020.