\subsubsection{New Solar Telescope at BBSO} Supported primarily by a current NSF MRI grant (ATM-0320540), BBSO/NJIT, in collaboration with the University of Hawaii (UH) and Korean Astronomical Observatory (KAO), have teamed to upgrade BBSO by replacing its principal 65-cm aperture telescope with a modern, off-axis 1.6-m clear aperture instrument with a $180^{\prime\prime} \times 180^{\prime\prime}$ field of view (FOV) (Goode et al., 2003). The new telescope offers a significant improvement in ground-based high angular resolution capabilities, and enhances our continuing program to understand photospheric magneto-convection and chromospheric dynamics. These are the drivers for what is broadly called space weather -- an important problem, which impacts human technologies and life on Earth. This New Solar Telescope (NST) is a whole new system starting with being the largest aperture off-axis telescope. We have made strides in implementing this project, including the design of the optical support structure with active optics, a new dome to house the larger telescope, and a whole new control system. The project is described in detail on the BBSO's website www.bbso.njit.edu/newtelescope. TO minimize the risk of the project, we have borrowed on the design of existing telescopes as much as possible in the NST project. For example, the new Dome design follows that of SOAR, with modification: larger dome with louvers to ensure proper airflow inside the dome, so the long-standing dome-seeing problem at BBSO can be solved. The NST optical and software control designs are similar to the existing SOLAR-C (UH) and the planned ATST facility led by NSO -- all three are off-axis designs. We have full funding for the NST, except the funding for its AO system. Figure 2 shows the mechanical schematics and optical layout of NST. The full operation is expected by the spring of 2007. The specific progresses are: \noindent (a) All optical and mechanical designs are completed. The telescope has a 1.7-m primary mirror with the 1.6-m clear aperture. It has the off-axis Gregorian configuration consisting of parabolic primary, heat-stop, elliptical secondary and two diagonal flats. The focal ratio of the primary mirror is f/2.4, and the final ratio is f/50. The working wavelength will cover from 0.39 to 1.7~$\mu m$ in the Coude Room one floor beneath the telescope and all infrared wavelengths at the Nasmyth focus on the dome floor. We chose an off-axis design primarily because of its vastly reduced stray light, since there is no central obscuration, which reduces the telescope's MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) at high spatial frequency. We have designed open telescope structure with an equatorial mount. There is a key design issue for a large aperture open solar telescope: the thermal control system including keeping the temperature of the mirrors the same as the air. We are using the wind-gate system in the new dome (discussed below) to control the airflow from the wind and help maintain the same temperature inside and outside the dome. In addition, we will implement an airknife system to limit so-called "mirror seeing". \noindent (b) The central and risky part of the NST project is the figuring of the primary mirror to high optical quality. The Zerodur primary mirror is being polished at Steward Observatory Mirror Lab, University of Arizona (UA Mirror Lab), as part of their 20/20 project (see www.optics2001.com/telescope.htm). This is the optimal facility for figuring the NST primary mirror. The lab is funded to polish a fast, off-axis 1.7-m mirror, as a prove-of-concept study for figuring seven 8.4-m mirrors for twin 21-m telescope. The end product of the proof-of-concept will be the primary mirror for the NST. The precision of the primary is targeted at 10 nm. The polishing of the primary is progressing well and is scheduled for completion no later than February 2006. The progress is sufficient that we now know that the project is not risky. The risk concerns the characterization of the figure of the primary. For the final testing Steward built a testing tower with a 0.5 spherical mirror at its top and a special holographic system to account the off-axis nature of the mirror. It turns out that profilometer and holographic testing of the primary yielded the same result over the visible, so we are confident in the testing and the polishing continues with the rms error being about 200 nm as of this writing. \noindent(c) The 145-mm concave secondary and its backup are also in the final polishing stage at Space Optics Research Lab (SORL). Shortly after February 2006, The primary and the secondary will be tested in tandem in the UA Mirror Lab or Optical Sciences Center. Testing equipments will be setup for this final system test of the principal optics of the NST. The downstream mirrors are all flats. \noindent (d) The heatstop is the responsibility of the UH part of our team, and will follow that of SOLAR-C. It has a separate airknife system to control the heat. NEED MORE HERE. \noindent (e) The last piece of hardware needed for the NST is the Optical Support Structure and its Equatorial Mount. DFM has been contracted to build the system based on their standard designs, which they have successfully implemented for many telescopes with pointing and stability specifications equivalent to the NST. An important part of the system is the primary mirror cell. The primary mirror is supported by 36 axial and 6 tangential actuators. These force based servos will compensate for gravity and thermally induced errors in the mirror figure. The secondary mirror will be mounted on an agile hexapod. The M850 system system made by PI has been purchased and tested. A wavefront sensing system is being developed to control the active optics components. This system will be placed immediately before M3 (first flat mirror, which directly feeds the Nasmyth focus, or feeds flip mirror M4 that in turn feeds light to the Coude Room beneath, where the adaptive optics system resides). \noindent (f) To accommodate the size of the NST and control the airflows for thermal control, a new dome is required. MFG Ratech has been contracted to design and build the new dome. The design has been finished. It is a 34-ft 5/8 sphere dome with a retractable shutter. It is similar to the SOAR dome, also designed by Ratech. The dome structure consists of a steel frame with shell of fiberglass panels. The air circulation will be controlled by 14 windgates around the dome, at the height of the primary mirror. The installation of the dome is scheduled for November 2005. We will have a full year to test the control systems for the new dome, and our new thermal systems, before the NST is installed. Observations will the 65-cm telescope will continue under the new dome (after a two month downtime), focal plane instruments and the existing AO can continue their testing and development through the summer of 2006. \noindent (g) Development of the software for the telescope control system is about halfway finished. The software team consists three members at NJIT and two members from KAO. The central computer (Headquarters) controls the following subsystems: telescope pointing and tracking; active mirror control; adaptive optics system and thermal control system. The communication links between software modules have been written and tested and the development continues on the various subsystem control segments. The entire system will be done before Summer 2006, and will be ready for further development in the commissioning phase of the NST (first light near the end of 2006). As we have a strong team for this task, different components of the software will be cross-checked, to ensure that they are working properly. \noindent (h) Focal plane instruments for NST are in the final stages of development. These include visible and near infrared magnetograph and real time speckle imaging systems. They are presently being used to observe with the existing 65-cm telescope. The detail of the infrared system will be discussed in section A.2.