1. Pg 1 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting SOAR: Resources & Priorities Jay Elias

2. Pg 2 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting Resources Overview Two types of SOAR funding: –NOAO “in-kind” contribution: Roughly equivalent to labor associated with baseline operations Includes some repair work, etc. Accumulated deficit (mostly) due to favorable exchange rates over last several years –Partner cash contributions: Cover non-labor operations costs Intended also to cover major repairs, improvements Accumulated substantial cash reserve – »Some external expenditures possible, but many projects require local staff »Available staff already over-committed »SOLUTION: SOAR Board has authorized support for additional ETS hires – nominally 2 FTEs through end of FY2018 – emphasis on electronics area but continued SW and ME support assumed

3. Pg 3 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting ETS Labor Breakdown SkillFY15 budgetFY15 actualFY16 budget Optical Engineer0.200.340.50 Mechanical Engineer0.650.330.75 Drafting/Designer/Machinist1.301.481.45 Electrical Engineer1.100.290.75 Electronics Tech0.500.190.40 Software Engineer1.151.241.00 Total4.903.884.85

4. Pg 4 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting Project Priorities (Board List) On-going Projects: Completion of TCS upgrade –Need to define some additional scope in support of remote observing, Goodman spectrograph upgrades Goodman Red Camera –Negligible ETS resources involved Goodman acquisition camera – –Almost done – last round of tests, user documentation Re-definition of tip-tilt guider work – see later slides

5. Pg 5 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting Project Priorities (Board List) M1 Aluminization –Scheduled for late CY 2016 – must meet this schedule to ensure availability of Gemini staff/facilities –Complex effort, requires careful planning (last done 2009) –Desire to make modifications (additions) to Gemini chamber to produce better coating (no Ag contamination) – verify feasibility now if we are going to meet schedule. –Planning is not resource-intensive but schedule cannot slip. Needs appropriate priority! –All-out effort once we start removing the primary mirror

6. Pg 6 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting Project Priorities (Board List) Need for new coating – –Original M1 coating not consistent with fresh Al –2009 coatings have held up well (down <2%/surface) –M2, M3 are “good” Al but might as well re-do when we do M1

7. Pg 7 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting New Projects (Board List) Charged by Board to perform a critical failure analysis of the facility –Intended to guide additional procurement of spares –Intended to identify upgrade projects aimed at reliability –Need to set up a technical working group to define methodology and start work Some approaches to CFA may be excessive for our needs/schedule/budget Focus on telescope/dome etc – UNC will address for Goodman and other instruments not considered “critical” at present (unless demand changes) Expected to result in additional project work

8. Pg 8 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting New Projects (Board List) M1 active optics speed up –Mike Warner is a key person; some support from Omar Estay –Much of the electronic work can be done by SOAR day crew –Goal is to speed up M1 adjustments during slews by factor of 3+ –Define as ACTR project so we can start Goodman blue camera modernization –Red camera electronics very different from old blue camera electronics –Strongly recommended to upgrade to compatible hardware (need to confirm feasibility) –Associated upgrades to software –Mostly UNC or external contract, but interaction with TCS implies need for ETS SW software –Not requesting definition as ACTR project yet (if ever)

9. Pg 9 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting New Projects Instruments –Support for SIFS – intermittent for now, may ramp up some –Support for STELES – NOT ready to ship, but will need support when it arrives Support for installation Support for dewar completion Review of plans… –TripleSpec aka ARCoIRIS? Ask Steve about this

10. Pg 10 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting New Projects Guider Project(s) –Upgrade to TT guider has been on the SOAR project list for years (not necessarily on the ACTR list, though) –Work on “donut” algorithm has shown that there are problems with the guider optics that make “donut” impractical – vignetting and insufficient depth of focus –Tentative proposal – Add focus mechanism Replace input lens with somewhat larger lens Allows for addition of a 2x2 Shack Hartmann element (prism, similar design used at Gemini) Should provide permanent TTFA correction –Minimal loss of sensitivity (acceptable) –Some loss of patrol field –Implement at both foci, TBD which comes first –Up to ACTR whether to wait for better definition but we want to move ahead on this

11. Pg 11 15 September 2015 ACTR Meeting New Projects Guider Project(s) continued –Upgrades to CWFS “pending” OK with existing hardware until it fails – then it’s critical Should not wait for critical failure analysis to complete