July 24th

To start the day off a bunch of summer physics researchers rotated the telescope so that the mirror is pointing away from the wall. The screws holding the aluminum honeycomb panels were removed and the hex screws holding the panels to the frame were also removed after some convincing from the blow torch. Replacements will have to be ordered of the small hex screws and washers. New brackets will also have to be ordered that are as tall as the replacement panels to better stabilization. Unfortunately, the new honeycomb panels that Tom ordered were painted which was not clear in the data sheet and since we cannot have any materials that might be reflective in the infrared, they have to be sent back. I will look into the return policy for McMaster-Carr and hopefully we can get unpainted panels relatively easily after the mix up. A list was also made of the things that still need to be done so that we can keep an eye on the big picture.