Subject: Minutes of November 9 3.5m User's Committee Meeting

From: strauss@astro.Princeton.EDU

Submitted: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 17:08:45 -0500 (EST)

Message number: 322 (previous: 321, next: 323 up: Index)

	Apache Point Observatory 3.5m User's Committee Meeting
****************November 9, 1998**********************

Attending: Michael Strauss, Rene Walterbos, Bruce Gillespie, Ed
Turner, Jeff Brown, Chris Stubbs, Ed Kibblewhite. 

Not attending: Alan Uomoto

Agenda:
Results from the Seattle meeting
The status of the Echelle installation
new secondary and its mounting
Status of GRIM
Miscellaneous
Appendix: Minutes of a phone-con on rebuilding the telescope front-end

************Seattle Meeting Highlights*************

There was a 3.5m user's community meeting held in Seattle at the end
of October.  Minutes from the meeting were not taken; we here
summarize the highlights. 

  It was agreed that the current scheme of having institutional shares
in telescope time adjusted whenever a new instrument is built was not
working; in particular, it was not giving sufficient incentive for
people to build instruments.  It was suggested instead that the
observatory as a whole would make arrangements with individual
instrument builders both inside and outside of ARC, to have them
supply instruments for the telescope.

  For outside instruments, the arrangement would be to exchange the
use of already existing instruments by the APO community for
guaranteed telescope time, as well as the opportunity to get more time
by collaborating with ARC institution members. 
  Within the collaboration, the idea would be to have ARC institution
instrument builders propose to build an observatory instrument, in
exchange for guaranteed observing time, as well as some amount of
in-kind resources and/or cash from the observatory.  An instrument
builder could use this to "sweeten the pot" in a instrumentation
proposal he or she was writing, e.g., to the NSF.  The director would
have a pot of money and/or telescope time for these negotiations in
both cases, with advice by the User's Committee, or some equivalent
advisory body. 

  Approval of this idea awaits the upcoming ARC Board of Governor's
meeting.

  Also discussed in Seattle were plans to formalize arrangements with
Chris Stubbs' engineering group at Seattle, to have their
responsibilities with respect to maintenance of the telescope and
instruments, and on-going improvements to the system (automated
tertiary rotation, tip-tilt guiding, DIS chip upgrades, etc.)
acknowledged and formalized. 

  There was a general recognition that it is well-nigh impossible to
run a 4-meter class telescope for under $1 million per year, which is
indeed close to the current operating budget, once you include the
funding of the 3-year plan, and in-kind contributions.  It was
therefore deemed advisable to continue funding operations plus general
upgrades (including new instruments) at the current spending rate, for
at least the immediate future.

*********Echelle Installation*********************
Gillespie: The echelle will be lifted to the telescope level this morning. 
Things are going fine. 
[Update from Gillespie: a fit problem was encountered 11/11, requiring
modification of the hole in the floor.  this may cost a week in schedule.]

Counterweights for the telescope are being put in now (at least in a
temporary way; the final version of it will be done somewhat later).
[Update from Gillespie: "Final" counterweights were delivered 11/12
and are being installed.] 
Fiber-optic interfaces are going in soon.  In general, things seem to
be on track. [Update from Gillespie: On-sky tests may begin around the
week of 11/23].  See the APO web page for pretty pictures of the
installation process:
http://www.apo.nmsu.edu/Telescopes/ARC.progress.html 

  Commissioning of the instrument is planned as two-phase.  Shu-i Wang
is in charge of the first phase, to do hardware
commissioning/installation; this should be completed by the end of
November.  The second phase is science commissioning, starting early
December and lasting through February or so, to get the instrument to
the point that it can be used by general users.  It should be
available for general use by 2nd quarter in 1999, and on a shared-risk
basis by the end of the first quarter.

In fourth quarter, the time for science commissioning will be taken as
engineering pre-empts from pre-scheduled observing, with 2-week notice
where possible, and possible protection of some already-scheduled
programs.

Once the echelle has been permanently mounted, and once the automated
rotation of tertiary is in place, we can switch between instruments
*very* quickly, which will allow us to set observing plans based on
the weather of any given night. 

*************New Secondary and its Mounting*************
There is a good chance of a delivery of the new secondary in January
1999; polishing is now underway at Steward. 

We hope to be able to mount the secondary on the current top-end "as
soon as we get it."  Jon Davis is managing this effort.  This will not
have all capabilities we would like to have (but should allow us to
benefit immediately from the expected improvement in image quality).
Thus there is an effort to build a more permanent mount for it, a
rebuilding of the entire telescope front-end, on a timescale of 6-9
months, which will include such goodies as tip-tilt capability.  Ed
Kibblewhite is taking the lead on the development of this new
front-end.

See the appendix for minutes of a phone con discussion of the new
front-end plans.  The following, from these minutes, is a list of
improvements this new front-end will have, together with the person in
charge of each:

o implement tip-tilt secondary motions, Chris Stubbs
o fix temperature hysteresis in truss, vanes, etc., Jon Davis
o suppress vibrations, Ed Kibblewhite
o enable more vane tension, Jon Davis (see WIYN)
o enable motorized x-y secondary translation, Chris Stubbs
o implement AO laser launcher (by July?), Ed Kibblewhite
o improve thermal management, Ed Kibblewhite
o implement position, temperature, acceleration metrology, Chris Stubbs
o make mods to focus motion (improve speed, etc.), Chris Stubbs

  The median seeing has been 0.9" with GRIM, and 1.1" with SPICAM
recently, implying that things are going to be really wonderful with
the new secondary, if we get the expected improvement in the image
quality of a few tenths of an arcsecond. 

******************Status of GRIM*********************
It has been a dramatic few weeks.  GRIM had a hard failure last week.
Dale Sanford, one of the original GRIM builders, happened to be at
APO, working on echelle; reseating some of the processor cards, and
some of the chips thereon, brought it back to life.  Dale will work on
some of the other electronic problems that GRIM shows (which manifest
themselves when reinitializing after cycling the power). 

****************Observing Specialist****************
We're up to full strength again.  Russet McMillan, who has been
working on the SDSS Monitor Telescope, has come over to the 3.5m.  She
has a PhD in astronomy, and therefore can bring a unique perspective
in terms of a scientist working with a telescope full-time. 

****************New Quartz Lamps*********************
Bernadette Rodgers has taken the lead on getting new, brighter quartz
lamps for flats, with much help from the staff at APO.  
Gillespie emphasizes that this is the way we should work, when members
of the User's Community see a need, and work with APO staff to see it
done.  

****************Primary Support Oscillations********
Gillespie: There is a maintenance issue: If water gets into the
compressed air system, nasty things can happen, which has caused some
oscillations in the primary in recent weeks.  We are looking for ways
to keep the air in the system dry with local dessicants, even in the
presence of tiny leaks.  They are now pumping dry nitrogen through the
system, to get the water out.

There will be a Board of Governors meeting November 24.  The budget
presented there will include the third year of the 3-yr plan, plus
routine operations, plus an additional 1/2 FTE of telescope engineer
because the current person shared with SDSS is being stretched too
far.

  Stubbs: Let's sustain the level of effort going into the 3-year plan
in instrumentation support/development, and telescope improvements.
The folks in Seattle are planning to lead that effort.  The formal
decision for this will take place at the BoG meeting. 

Last month's minutes are approved. 

Next meeting, Monday, December 14, 12:30 PM Eastern Time. 

***************Appendix*********************************
Minutes of Telecon to plan for installing new secondary and for
subsequent top-end enhancements

Attendees: E. Turner, C. Stubbs, M. Klaene, J. Davis, B. Gillespie, A.
Uomoto, E. Kibblewhite

"Quick Mount" plan for new secondary

o agreed that imperative to get mirror mounted as soon as practical after
receipt

o transverse support need modification--design, fabrication

o use same wiffles, lengthen or otherwise modify "flexure" connectors

o use SDSS adhesives on pads, etc.

o glue pads to mirror when they are attached to wiffles

o modify flexures to gain compliance

o Jon Davis to design mount mods, group to review, UWash to fab and help
install

o need to specify our "acceptance" procedure for SOML delivery of mirror

o APO coats mirror at Sunspot, bare aluminum

o collimation using Shack Hartmann--get SH tester ASAP and use on existing
mirror first

o need to get quantity of "Alloy 39," APO to procure(?)

o need to make new custom handling band, APO to procure


"Phase II" plan for Front-end enhancements

List of improvements and "owner"

o implement tip-tilt secondary motions, Chris Stubbs

o fix temperature hysteresis in truss, vanes, etc., Jon Davis

o suppress vibrations, Ed Kibblewhite

o enable more vane tension, Jon Davis (see WIYN)

o enable motorized x-y secondary translation, Chris Stubbs

o implement AO laser launcher (by July?), Ed Kibblewhite

o improve thermal management, Ed Kibblewhite

o implement position, temperature, acceleration metrology, Chris Stubbs

o make mods to focus motion (improve speed, etc.), Chris Stubbs


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