sky use of the GeMS laser.
The October and December runs culminated in the
return of GeMS to queue
readiness, including the
first Classical time observations made with GeMS
in late December.
The GeMS team also completed the instrument’s first
operational
Acceptance
Review (AR) in November,
with the final review scheduled for January 2014. The
AR clearly defined the extra support personnel and
tasks needed prior to each
GeMS run to ensure that
the instrument is ready for
science. This effort includes
members of many groups
across Gemini — Science Operations, Optical Systems, Electronics and Instrumentation,
Systems Engineering, Software, Information
Systems, and, of course, the Adaptive Optics
group — and demands that they work together in a coordinated manner.
In addition, the AR stressed that every successful night of GeMS operation requires
careful communication between the telescope operator, observer, laser technician,
adaptive optics group support, and laser
spotters. The key to a successful transition to
routine queue operations of GeMS is communication between all of these highly technical and savvy individuals.
Finally, the GeMS AR