View Keck 2035: The W. M. Keck Observatory Strategic Plan Strategic Plan.
The W. M. Keck Foundation funded both the original Keck I telescope and six years later, its twin, Keck II. The project was managed by the University of California and the California Institute of Technology. The Keck I telescope began science observations in May 1993; Keck II saw first light in October 1996. In 1996, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) joined as a one-sixth partner in the Observatory.
Today Keck Observatory is a 501(c)3 supported by both public funding sources and private philanthropy. The organization is governed by the California Association for Research in Astronomy (CARA), whose Board of Directors includes representatives from the California Institute of Technology and the University of California, with liaisons from NASA and the Keck Foundation.
The Observatory endorses and supports the Astro2020 Decadal Survey process. Its senior staff members and Science Steering Committee, along with colleagues at Keck Observatory’s partner institutions, have provided community input through the following contributions:
The W. M. Keck Observatory: A Private/Public Partnership Enabling Frontier Astrophysical Advances in the Coming Decade
W. M. Keck Observatory’s Next Generation Adaptive Optics Facility
The Role of the W. M. Keck Observatory in U.S. Astronomy
The Value of the Keck Observatory to NASA and Its Scientific Community
Operational Funding for Optical and Infrared Interferometers