Coastal Fabricators is a joint venture between Chart Inc. and Optimus Corporation. In addition to PSD, Chart Inc.-Cryogenic Components Division is involved in these projects through the supply of cryopumps and certain other high-vacuum components. Cleveland-based Chart Inc., with operations in 14 states and six other countries around the world, manufactures standard and custom process equipment, primarily for low-temperature and cryogenic applications.

Coating the mirror

There are several steps to the actual coating process, including initial evacuation of the chamber, capture and removal of all water vapor within the chamber, complete evacuation, and implementation of a glow discharge process, which may be required to eliminate remaining molecules of moisture on the surfaces within the chamber. Finally, low-voltage current is passed through each of the filaments under a carefully developed process that is controlled both by computer and by a programmed device. The resulting heat generated within the filaments ultimately vaporizes the aluminum, and that vapor travels essentially everywhere in the vessel, landing on anything that is not shielded - that is, the mirror.

Drying system

In Sweden, CTT Systems AB, a specialty air conditioning company, is adapting its Zonal Drying System to the SOFIA aircraft to combat condensation on the telescope during the descent phase after each completed mission flight. The dryer will provide the telescope cavity with extremely dry air; this dry air distribution will continue after landing, until the temperature of the telescope structure is equal to ground temperature.

The 20-kilogram (44-lb.) dryer works by taking from the passenger cabin, drying it and then blowing it into a targeted area of the aircraft (in this case the telescope cavity), lowering the relative humidity of the air. Using the desiccant wheel principle, the dryer is a cylinder-formed dehumidifier that continuously returns processed humidity back into the cabin.