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| Alternative names | NASA Orbital Debris Observatory | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Organization | U.S. Air Force | ||
| Observatory code | V29 | ||
| Location | New Mexico | ||
| Coordinates | 32°58′46″N105°44′01″W / 32.9795°N 105.7336°W /32.9795; -105.7336 | ||
| Altitude | 2,751 m (9,026 ft) | ||
| Established | 1962 (1962) | ||
| Closed | 1982 (1982) | ||
| Telescopes | |||
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  Location of Cloudcroft Observatory | |||
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 Related media on Commons | |||
Cloudcroft Observatory (observatory code:V29) is anastronomicalobservatory located in theLincoln National Forest nearCloudcroft,New Mexico, approximately 23 kilometers (14 mi) northeast ofAlamogordo. It is owned by theTzec Maun Foundation, a private astronomical organization.
Known as theCloudcroft Electro-Optical Research Facility when it was built in 1962, it was owned by theU.S. Air Force (USAF) until 1982 and initially operated by theAir Force Avionics Laboratory (AFAL).[1] It was used as part of a project to develop new techniques for detecting satellites with electronic imaging devices, which were eventually to replaceProject Space Track's Baker-Nunn photographic system.[2] From 1995 to 2002, the facility was known as theNASA Orbital Debris Observatory and hosted two telescopes funded and operated byNASA.
The site near Cloudcroft was selected by AFAL in 1961 after several months of site characterization, and construction began in 1962.[1][3] The First light of the Electro-Optical Surveillance Telescope (EOST) was achieved in 1964. The device was a 1.22 m (48 in)Newtonian telescope on a three-axis mount. The azimuth-elevation-azimuth configuration simplified tracking and allowed for good imaging of objects at the zenith. Aiming at poorly constrained targets was assisted by two small Naval sight guns placed in domes on opposite corners of the building. The first automated detection system, the FSR-2, was located at the site in the late 1960s in a separate building. It only operated for one year due to technical and financial reasons. AFAL continued Space Object Identification (SOI) research at Cloudcroft until 1975. At that time the facility was transferred to USAFSpace and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO).[1]
In the late 1970s, the facility came under the control of theAir Force Geophysical Laboratory, which contracted withSacramento Peak Observatory to perform various research.[4] Guest researchers also had the opportunity to use the facility.[5] The facility was deactivated in 1982, and in the late 1980s the telescope was transferred to theJet Propulsion Laboratory'sTable Mountain Observatory.[6][7]
In 1995,NASA began using the facility, which was renamed asNASA Orbital Debris Observatory.[8] A 3.0 m (120 in)liquid-mirror telescope was built in the main dome and operated from 1996 to 2001.[1]
The facility has since been disposed of by the government and is now owned by a private astronomical organization, the Tzec Maun Foundation. As of April 2013[update], a 1.0 m (39 in) reflecting telescope was being tested in the main dome.[9]
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