Leading Space Science Innovation

The Giant Magellan Telescope is a global endeavor led by American universities and research institutions. Ranked as the top priority of the National Academies’ 2020 Decadal Survey for Astronomy and Astrophysics, the United States federal government has the opportunity to expand its global influence and pave the future of space science with the Giant Magellan Telescope.

40% underway

40% under construction in manufacturing facilities and research labs across the U.S.

36 states

Designed and built in America in 36 states with 9 leading U.S. universities supporting construction.

$1 billion

Backed by $1 billion in private funding, 65% coming from U.S. institutions and investors.

Ready to Deliver

The Giant Magellan Telescope is already 40% under construction. With federal support from the National Science Foundation, it could reach 90% completion within two years — ensuring American scientists have access to the most advanced astronomical tools on a globally competitive timeline.

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All 7 of the 8.4-meter diameter primary mirrors have been cast, with 3 completed and 4 undergoing polishing to achieve a surface smoother than 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair. Here, University of Arizona Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab staff members are placing the final pieces of Ohara E6 glass into a mold for casting the telescope’s 7th primary mirror. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

Each of the 8.4-meter primary mirrors lives within a support system that controls the combined 7 mirrors to act as a single light-collecting surface. Here, a support system prototype is being moved from the University of Arizona Tech Park to the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab for mirror installation and testing. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

Each of the 8.4-meter primary mirrors is protected by a mechanized mirror cover. Here, OHB Italia SpA, a fabrication and testing facility in Italy, is testing of the opening and closing mechanisms on the first of 7 mirror covers for the telescope. Credit: OHB Italia SpA.

In 2022, Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc. in Rockford, Illinois, completed the construction of a new manufacturing facility equipped with America’s largest precision gantry mill to build and assemble the telescope mount. Credit: Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc.

Fabrication and assembly of the 39-meter-tall telescope mount began in 2023 as the largest telescope mount manufactured in the United States. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

In partnership with Ingersoll Machine Tools and OHB Digital Connect, fabrication of the 39-meter-tall precision moving structure is taking place across multiple states including Illinois. When complete, the mount will be shipped to the Giant Magellan Telescope site in Chile for reassembly. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

In partnership with Ingersoll Machine Tools and OHB Digital Connect, fabrication of the 39-meter-tall precision moving structure is taking place across multiple states including Michigan. When complete, the mount will be shipped to the Giant Magellan Telescope site in Chile for reassembly. Credit: Dynasty Fab

In partnership with Ingersoll Machine Tools and OHB Digital Connect, fabrication of the 39-meter-tall precision moving structure is taking place across multiple states including Alabama. When complete, the mount will be shipped to the Giant Magellan Telescope site in Chile for reassembly. Credit: Teledyne Brown Engineering, Inc.

The telescope’s optical performance relies on a wavefront-control strategy for controlling the light-collecting surfaces and adaptive optics. In collaboration with the Italian National Astrophysical Institute, the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the University of Arizona, testbeds have been built to validate the strategy. Credit: Richard Demers, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

The Giant Magellan Telescope Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF) will measure the masses of Earth-like planets outside of our solar system and search for biosignatures, such as oxygen, in their atmospheres. Following the successful build of instrument’s red camera, testing is underway at the G-CLEF optical test facility in Massachusetts. The red lens stack is made of seven lenses housed in an ultra-stable Invar metal fixture. Credit: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

The Giant Magellan Telescope Large Earth Finder (G-CLEF) will measure the masses of Earth-like planets outside of our solar system and search for biosignatures, such as oxygen, in their atmospheres. The G-CLEF instrument will reside in a vacuum chamber that’s being manufactured at the Redline Chambers, Inc. facility in Clearfield, Utah. Manufacturing of this ultra-stable thermal environment is near completion. Credit: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

Each of the 7 primary mirrors is integrated with a highly specialized pneumatic support system. As a key part of the integration process, Texas A&M University worked to clean, assemble, and test the support actuators used in the support system. Credit: Damien Jemison, Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation.

Fueling Industry

At $2.6 billion, the telescope is designed and built in America across 36 states, supporting thousands of jobs in engineering, manufacturing, and technology.

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What’s at Stake?

The Giant Magellan Telescope is a core partner of the U.S. Extremely Large Telescope Program and the top-ranked priority in the National Academies’ 2020 Decadal Survey for Astronomy and Astrophysics. Strategically located in the Southern Hemisphere, it will leverage billions in existing U.S. investments — including the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Gemini South, and ALMA — to create an unmatched scientific ecosystem in Chile. Amid rising global competition, the stakes for American access to next-generation astronomy facilities are high. Europe is already 60% complete with its own Extremely Large Telescope in Chile, which will not be directly accessible to U.S. scientists. Without immediate federal support for the Giant Magellan Telescope, America risks ceding leadership in space science and discovery for decades to come.

Excerpt from from the National Academies’ Astro2020 Decadal Survey

“The success of [the Giant Magellan Telescope] is absolutely essential if the United States is to maintain a position as a leader in ground-based astronomy.”

Read the official report

Excerpt from the National Science Foundation’s US ELT External Evaluation Report

“The panel has confidence that GMT will progress through FDP to a successful FDR and construction, if approved.”

Read from the NSF Director

Construction funding from the National Science Foundation will secure U.S. leadership in space science for the next 50 years.