The front of the mirror is now being fine-ground and is due to be finished by the end of the year. The secondary mirror figuring is nearly ready, and coating tests are ongoing at the facilities of subcontractor Astrium SAS in Toulouse, France. The manufacturing, assembly and test of the secondary mirror's tilt-chopping mechanism are planned for 2001 at the facilities of subcontractor CSEM in Neuchatel, Switzerland. The secondary mirror drive, a motor that is designed to focus and optimize image quality within 60 seconds, has been successfully prototyped, with assembly scheduled to begin soon. The bearing sphere, which wraps around the center of the nasmyth tube and thus bears the dynamical mass of the telescope, is in the process of being manufactured.
Next steps are nickel coating, fine grinding and chromium coating.
The key parts of the inner cradle, which is actually the outer part of the bearing sphere, are nearly ready. These cameras will help ensure that tracking is accurate during science missions. They will help keep the telescope accurately pointed even during aircraft missions.