AN ADVANCED AUTOMATIC TELESCOPE COMPUTER CONTROL PROGRAM,

The report describes the major features of a modular, advanced, automatic telescope digital control program TEST, used at the Mount Haleakala Observatory for automated, sampled-data control of one 60-in.- and two 48-in.-aperture telescopes, which may be controlled simultaneously or separately. Among the flexible features of the system are lunar, planetary, and stellar tracking capabilities. Pointing and tracking performance are improved in real time by refraction corrections and mount models which compensate for flexure, collimation error, and other mechanical differences of the telescope from an ideal optical-coordinate system. TEST also contains the logical processing for an infrared scanner-tracker sensor mounted on one of the 48-in. telescopes this provides an infrared tracking capability. TEST serves an an equipment testing program for the control loop, which features specifiable step, ramp, and various sinusoidal driving functions for each asix. A brief operators guide and logic flow charts are included in the report. Author