announcement

Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited
A.C.N. 092 708 364
Level 9, 185 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Tel 61 2 9233 3915 Fax 61 2 9232 3411
Email [email protected]
http://www.eos-aus.com
13 July 2003
The Manager
Company Announcements Office
Australian Stock Exchange Limited
Exchange Centre
20 Bridge Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Dear Sirs,
EOS to build the world’s most capable star mapping telescope for ANU
Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited (ASX: EOS) today announced it has reached agreement with The Australian National University (ANU) to design a 1.8m telescope destined to be the fastest sky mapping telescope in the world.
The “Skymapper Telescope” will be built jointly by EOS and Mt Stromlo and installed at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory, near Coonabarabran. It will be fully automated and will be linked to observers at Mount Stromlo.
The Skymapper will combine innovative EOS telescope technology with ANU instrument technology to achieve a higher star mapping rate than has been possible up to now. It will be fully automated and linked to observers at Mt Stromlo.
In announcing the project’s commencement on July 13, the Director of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Professor Penny Sackett, said the “Skymapper Telescope offers exciting capabilities which we have not had at Stromlo before”.
The ANU hopes early construction of the telescope will enable it to complete on schedule a planned five-year project to produce the first digital map of the Southern Sky. An ANU team led by Professor Brian Schmidt was awarded a $1m ARC grant last year for the Southern Sky Survey and had planned to use the Great Melbourne Telescope on Mount Stromlo until it was destroyed by bush fires.
EOS Chief Executive Dr Ben Greene said the Skymapper project “pushes the boundaries of telescope performance in many ways and EOS is confident it has the technology to meet and extend its capabilities beyond this latest challenge.
“EOS is the world’s largest manufacturer of telescopes up to 3m in aperture and this new venture consolidates our position in technical leadership as well.”
Plans are already in train for the Skymapper to be complemented by a new 2-metre Mt Stromlo-based telescope called The Phoenix. The Phoenix will be used by ANU researchers as well as the public and will rank as the world’s biggest telescope dedicated to public use.
Skymapper and Phoenix are both telescope systems of approximately 2m optical aperture that typically cost around A$10m each to complete. EOS and ANU expect their advanced technology will allow the unprecedented performance of the Skymapper to be achieved without exceeding this budget.
EOS is also currently in negotiations and legal documentation with parties on other projects in both its space systems and weapon systems businesses.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Ben Greene
Chief Executive Officer
For information contact Ron Thompson [+61 2 6298 8008] or Ben Greene [+61 2 6298 8010].
For general information visit http://www.eos-aus.com.