Introduction To The 100" Lidar System (MEGALIDAR)

The colossal 100" collimator facility is being developed into a lidar system. The collimator is a 12 story high chamber with a 100" diameter f/6 mirror at the bottom of the chamber. By opening the top of the facility, the collimator is converted into a vertically pointed telescope. By installing a suitable detector at the focal point of the telescope, the chamber becomes the receiver of a extraordinary lidar system. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the facility at Wright-Patterson and the efforts, both present and planned, being undertaken to make this one-of-a-kind LIDAR facility a reality.