Baader Observatories

Cailabs – Shaping the Light

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 07:09:08 +0000

Cailabs develops, manufactures and delivers TILBA®-OGS turnkey optical ground stations, supplying its customers and partners with industrial optical ground stations that meet both industry standards and the specific requirements of space-to-ground links.

Note from Baader Planetarium

For our partner Cailabs, we were able to install a 4.2 m Advanced slit dome and an Observable Space (formerly PlaneWave) RC700 telescope at their company site in Rennes, France. The facility serves as a reference installation and test station for the TILBA product line. Cailabs manufactures turnkey optical ground stations for its global customer base, equipped with atmospheric turbulence mitigation and designed for optical “free-space” communication (LaserCOM) with satellites.

The dome from Baader’s Advanced (High-Speed) series is a key component in this system. Thanks to its exceptional durability (MTBF), high rotation speeds (up to 30°/sec), and robust design (high burglary and resistance class), it is ideally suited to the operational requirements of an industrially used ground station and protects this critical infrastructure.

Our domes underwent an extensive testing phase for this purpose and were reviewed and certified for system suitability according to Cailabs’ criteria. We are proud to have been selected as a system supplier for Cailabs and look forward to continuing our collaboration on many more optical ground stations to be built in Rennes in the future for Cailabs’ customers.

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MPS (Max-Planck Institut für Sonnensystemforschung)

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 14:02:02 +0000

In the neighborhood of our 3.5 m and 4.5 m AllSky domes, built in 2016 for “The Open University,” stands one of the longest-serving domes on Mount Teide: an 8 m slit dome that was originally installed 35 years ago for the GREGOR solar telescope. At that time, the slit of the dome was intended to be especially narrow for solar observation, but the concept later changed and a fully retractable dome was installed for the telescope instead (in 1980 the dome was still mounted on the tower; by now it stands a little off to the side, and the photo on the left was taken from inside the dome). Our old dome, however, is still in use and is rented out for changing projects with different telescopes.

Comparison: 1980 - 2016

8 Meter Baader dome - for 35 years on Teneriffa

The “interior” of the old 8 m dome. In our current 8.5 meter dome — installed on the Wendelstein — the slit is significantly larger.

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The instrument mounted in the dome was a 60 cm Gregory vacuum telescope for solar observation in special spectral ranges.

8 inch refractor from Astro Physics (f/7.7) with a
6 inch guide scope (with Lichtenknecker objective). In parallel, depending on requirements, a
150 mm flatfield camera from Lichtenknecker or a
5 inch refractor from Astro Physics can also be mounted.

The instrumentation was mounted on an Alt 7ADN mount with automatic computer control.

Also because of this proven durability, institutes all over the world place their trust in a medium-sized company from Bavaria when it comes to dome construction — Baader Planetarium GmbH.
We look forward to the next challenge. We would also be happy to build your observatory exactly according to your wishes and ideas.

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2,1 Meter Classic Dome (Spaltkuppel)

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 06:38:05 +0000

I acquired the Baader Planetarium dome second-hand in 2018. After I cleaned it, I was surprised that, after more than 30 years, it was still in very good condition and that no repairs at all were necessary.

2,1 Meter Classic Dome (Spaltkuppel)

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 15:31:43 +0000

Unfortunately, Mr. Dr. Steinmetz has already passed away, and we do not know whether the dome is still at this location. However, at the time we received from him analog pictures of the dome installation as well as a nice advertising slogan devised by him, which we do not want to withhold from you:

If you want to behold the cosmic scenarium –
acquire the dome from Baader Planetarium

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3,2 Meter Classic Dome (Spaltkuppel)

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 07:27:45 +0000

After more than 30 years in operation, I am still very satisfied with the dome.

3,2 Meter Classic Dome (Spaltkuppel)

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 10:51:53 +0000

You ask how my observatory is doing, and I say: “It works.” When it rains, it gets wet, but fortunately only on the outside. Inside it is dry and also offers a certain degree of light protection. So the dome functions without problems.

About the telescope: It is a 200 mm Cassegrain system, homemade. A former colleague built it. The mount is also homemade.

The tracking is carried out by a stepper motor controlled by a 4 MHz quartz crystal. The frequency is electronically divided down to the corresponding tracking frequency and is also homemade.

I hope this gives you a little pleasure and remain

Harald Maaß

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Fachhochschule Kiel

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 08:32:14 +0000

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Staatliches Gymnasium Burkhart

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Fri, 13 Jul 2018 12:16:53 +0000

Our school is proud of our observatory. In the now almost 30 years of operation, there have never been any problems and it is still in use.

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2,1 Meter Classic Dome (Spaltkuppel)

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 13:43:09 +0000

In operation for almost 30 years. Still works flawlessly!!! It just needs to be cleaned again on the outside.

Your J.Marquart

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Aloisiuskolleg Bonn

kontakt@baader-planetarium.de (Team Baader Planetarium) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 06:47:38 +0000

In the summer of 1990, the fiberglass dome on the roof of the Aloisiuskolleg was equipped with a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a 14-inch aperture (about 35 cm) and was then ceremonially inaugurated in October. But what are 25 years compared with the time that light needs to travel from the distant stars to us? The star clusters M37 or M38, for example, which lie in the constellation Auriga, are 4,000 light-years away from us. If students do not only want to read about this, but want to experience for themselves the fascination of observing the planets and star clusters, nebulae, and other interesting objects in the sky through the reflecting telescope in small groups together with teachers, parents, and amateurs when the sky is clear, then the Ako observatory is exactly the right place for them. A few years ago, with the help of generous support from the support association, the telescope was optically and mechanically completely overhauled and the fully automatic control system was repaired. In addition, a new digital camera now makes simple planetary photography possible. We will provide information about current events and observation dates on the door of the observatory. Clear Skies![br]