Client: United States Air Force

Scope of Services: Prime Architect with
Holmes Sabatini

Date of Completion: 1999

Floor Area: 41,000 SF

Located atop the summit of Mt. Haleakala, this observatory houses the world’s largest satellite tracking telescope – the Advanced Electro Optical System (AEOS). This facility includes offices, a dome platform, dome supports and bracings, and laboratories.

The observatory has been designed to isolate and protect the telescope from vibrations to prevent image distortion. Environmental conditions were also a factor - winds of up to 175 mph and the telescope’s high rotational starting and braking torques were other design challenges that had to be accommodated.