Telescope officials sign design agreement for South Africa

Officials of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) have signed an agreement to help in the design and construction of the South African Large Telescope (SALT) to be built at the South African Astronomical Observatory (Sutherland, South Africa). Construction of the SALT started in November, and observations are scheduled to begin in 2003. The 9-m SALT will be based on the design of the HET, which is the third-largest optical telescope in the world but was built at a substantial savings because of its design. McDonald Observatory (Ft. Davis, TX), home of the HET, will get 10% of SALT observing time. McDonald also plans a $6.7 million Astronomy Education Center, which will be built starting this summer.