IMACS Delivery and Unloading
The 40-ft container is already off the ship when Frank and Bruce arrive in the middle of the night.
The next morning, the ship with stacked containers on the stern -- despite our insistance, IMACS container #1 rode on top in a stack like this!
Getting ready to unload the 20-ft container, which was stored below deck.
The 20-ft container comes topside...
... lowered to the ground...
... and deposited on a air-ride trailer.
The trucks are keeping their own schedule, but Frank, Bruce, and Alan unexpectedly catch sight of the trucks on the Cuesta Pajonales and run them down just before the turnoff from the ESO road to the road to LCO.
The guys follow the trucks up the mountain, from in front.
The trucks climb the last miles to the summit.
Arrival at Magellan -- unloading the 40-ft truck first, lunchtime.
The lock is ground off (no key!), the doors are open, and IMACS is still there. Nothing in the container has moved, as far as we can tell.
The optical support structure (OSS) is pulled from the truck.
The straps are attached for lifting by the giant crane.
IMACS takes flight.
and up
and up
and into the dome of the Baade telescope.
IMACS gets its first look at its new home, including the east Nasmyth platform where it will reside.
Tyson Hare comes inside for a look.
The OSS is brought to rest on the dome floor..
The crew turns its attention to the Main Optical Support Structure (MOSS).
The MOSS is hoisted into the air.
The MOSS is placed next to the OSS, to be reassembled later.
Now for the unloading of two dozen boxes.
The carriage is the last piece that will be put into the dome, for now.
Carriage, MOSS, and OSS on the dome floor.
More boxes are lifted to the bridge to the auxilliary building.
It's late in the afternoon, and the IMACS team is exhausted from watching the excellent, hard work done from the Las Campanas crew.
The first truck departs and work begins to unload the second container.
The staging area in the auxilliary building is where the assembly and testing of subsystems will begin.
Frank, Bruce, and Alan's thumb relax after a job well done!