<title>Comparison of shipping, handling, and shock instrumentation results for two 3.5-m-class primary mirrors</title>

Packing, shipping, and handling procedures employed during several transportation activities for two large telescope primary mirrors are presented along with detailed shock recording results. Operations monitored included craning, forklifting, and shipping by air, sea, and land during all phases of manufacture and installation. The mirrors monitored were the SOR 3.5-m Telescope spun cast borosilicate primary mirror and the AEOS 3.67-m Telescope Zerodur thin meniscus primary mirror. Shock recording instrumentation included 2-, 5-, and 10-g Omni-G<SUP>TM</SUP> impact indicators, 10-g Impact o-graph<SUP>TM</SUP> 3-axis recording accelerometers, and high-resolution 3-axis accelerometers with Astromed Dash 8 eight-channel chart recorders and audio indicators. Shock results for some operations were monitored to the 0.01-g level. In-shipment temperature data are also presented and discussed. Effects of lifting operations, road conditions via truck, flight conditions via C-5B aircraft, and transportation via sea- going barge are discussed. Data are presented for three different crate designs and configurations and, in some cases, include mirror-in-cell shipping data. Shock results were observed from as low as a few hundredths-g to over 3- g's during various operations.