Building a lunar observatory - An engineer's time table

This paper shows the feasibility of constructing a 400 ft diameter steerable parabolic radio dish-type observatory on the moon. A structural configuration and the construction procedure are presented. The estimated earth weight of the proposed structure, assuming that graphite-epoxy-invar is used, is about 42 tons. An engineering construction timeline is also presented. The proposed structural configuration of the observatory is shown to be realistic and attainable.