Tekapo Observatory

Industrial Fibreglass Solutions, at an early, development stage was engaged to manufacture and install a 10.9 metre diameter observatory dome.

The dome presented some unique challenges for IFS engineers, in that there are moving parts and a window for the telescope to view the stars, and, the composite shell is fully self-supporting without a steel backing structure.

Construction of the dome was completed by Industrial Fibreglass Solutions using a PET-FR structural foams in conjunction with a fire resistant epoxy laminating system.

The dome was produced using just three main moulds all built in house by IFS: one for the 3m x 7m curved segments, one for the shutter panels, and one for a base ring flashing. The dome was fully assembled at IFS’s factory and then separated into half sections where it was transported on-site and reassembled on the ground as one unit before being lifted and installed via a crane.

Thanks to the lightness of the composite products used, the composite structure of the dome only weighed 2.4 ton out of a 6 ton total dome wieght, enabling the crane to easily lift the dome as one piece for installation, removing the need to have workers working at significant heights to do the assembly work.