Amos - "tailor-made” professional telescopes

Same concern on the manufacturer’s side: the newcomers must be taken into account when awarding contracts. Indeed, compared with ESA (European Space Agency), ESO has no optional programme or an industrial return strictly speaking. For the contracts made with member states, an analysis is carried out every five years in order to readjust the organisation’s orders among its member states. In the 1980s, the deficit of the Belgian return allowed engineers and manufacturers from Liège to be party to the choice of the Paranal site for the VLT (Very Large Telescope). Even better: ESO was able to contribute to the technological aspect of the industrial redevelopment in the Liège region.

In Liège, the SME Amos succeeded, at the cost of a long procedure, in positioning its competences in engineering and optics in ESO’s sphere of activity. Founded in 1983 out of the former Ateliers de la Meuse, the company began with professional astronomical equipment, supplying three portable seeing monitors. They were taken to Chile to study the quality of the sites suggested for the installation of the VLT. With this first achievement for European astronomers and astrophysicists, Amos had opened the door to ESO. Bill Collin, the director at Amos, became impassioned with the technological challenges of innovation in the realm of space observation systems. As well as the portable telescopes, Amos was able to convince the technical authorities at ESO with regard to the creation of key equipment for the VLT at Cerro Paranal:
- the dozen adaptor-rotators that guide the four telescopes so that they are correctly and precisely positioned;
- the lifting platform for the primary mirror, for its delicate transportation in case of upgrade and maintenance operations;
- the impressive “washing machine” for the mirrors on every telescope.
  
Subsequently, it is hardly surprising that Amos logos can be found everywhere in the Paranal observatory. Especially since the Liège SME is responsible for a technological masterpiece: the four “small” mobile auxiliary telescopes (ATs). Three were financed by ESO, while the fourth one was paid by Belgium through Belspo. This quartet on rails brings 3D to the observations of the four other big telescopes that are part of the VLT. Its creation established Amos as a supplier of professional telescopes. What is the reason behind this marvellous success? Jean-Pierre Chisogne, marketing director at Amos, explains: “In the competition with the other major European manufacturers, the great qualities of Amos include its reaction time and its flexibility in adapting to the customer’s demands. With ESO, we have a demanding customer whose staff includes engineers and scientists who are aware of the problems to be solved.  These members of staff were able to find mechanical, electronics and optical engineers at Amos who could answer their questions. They taught us a lot about “tailor-made” professional telescopes".

ESO was therefore a godsend for Amos. The company is already a candidate for the challenges the E-ELT will face over the next few years. Other companies from the Liège region are following in its wake and helping it with its supplies: Polmans SA at Visé and SMP (Scalco Mécanique Production) at Oupeye for the mechanical engineering works, and Spacebel for the IT side (software development). “The experience of the ESO contracts has allowed us to win offers with high-performance products in North America, Spain and India. And we are preparing others for Russia and Brazil”, acknowledges Claude Jamar, the managing director at Amos. The specialist in professional telescopes from Liège, which employs 80 staff, is required to supply “tailor-made” systems for the observatories in Hawaii and New Mexico. Hence the need for a subsidiary in Texas. Amos has also become India’s partner for its astronomy and astrophysics programmes; three telescopes are in the process of being delivered. Their installation is planned for 2013.

A big thank you for the contributions of

- Jean-Pierre Swings, retired professor of astrophysics from the AGO Department – he was very active in ESO;

- Emmanuel Jehin, an astrophysicist who is greatly involved in ESO activities and a regular visitor to the La Silla and Paranal observatories;

- Claude Jamar and Jean-Pierre Chisogne, managing director and marketing director respectively of Amos, the leading Belgian manufacturer in telescopes for ESO.