One of the major tasks in preparation for the arrival of the NIR was replacing SALT's atmospheric dispersion compensator (ADC). The coatings on the prisms of the original ADC were only designed to serve the optical wavelength range, so the ADC would've prevented near-infrared light from reaching the new spectrograph: sub-optimal...
To cut a long story short - the task of procuring the relevant optical blanks for the prisms, then figuring, polishing, coating & mounting them into suitably designed & manufactured cells was contracted out to a vendor in Italy: Officina Stellare.
The housing for the prisms & all the associated mechanisms were developed locally (essentially copying the existing ADC).
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| The mechanics allow both prisms to rotate as a unit & the top prism can translate axially |
Alrin's been working on the housing up at SALT, getting everything assembled & optimally aligned.
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| A zippy carbon fibre shell |
The optics arrived at SAAO in Cape Town on the 19th & today he got the prisms installed.  |
| The wedge shape of the prisms is quite extreme! |
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| Bottom prism's in already, now for the top one... |
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| Some extra hands provided by Melanie |
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| So far so good! |
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