VST project: technical overview

The VST (Very Large Telescope Survey Telescope) is an 2.6 m class Alt-Az telescope which will be installed in the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Paranal site, Chile. It has been designed by the Technology Working Group of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte, Italy. The VST is an 1 degree(s) X 1 degree(s) wide-field imaging facility planned to supply databases for the ESO VLT science and carry out stand-alone observations in the UV to I spectral range starting in the year 2001. All the solutions adopted in the VST design comply to the ESO VLT standards. This paper reports a technical overview of the telescope design.