Figure 1.
Gemini staff contributions
On the Horizon
OCTOCAM, Gemini’s next new facility instrument, nears its
Conceptual Design Review, while the GHOST team plans its
upcoming test phase. GeMS’ new laser passes past-shipping
Acceptance Testing and nears installation, and ‘Alopeke, a new high-
resolution speckle instrument, will soon be permanently mounted
on the Gemini North telescope for visitor mode operations.
OCTOCAM Project Formally Begins
The OCTOCAM team continue to work toward the project’s first major assessment point, the
Conceptual Design Review (CoDR).
The team, including members from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the Instituto
de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), Fractal, George Washington University (GWU), and Gemini,
met in Granada, Spain, on April 19th to formally kick off the project to bring the next new
facility instrument to Gemini.
The OCTOCAM team in
Granada, Spain. From
left to right: Antonio de
Ugarte Postigo, Principal
Investigator (IAA); Ruben
Diaz, Instrument Program
Scientist (Gemini); Cathy
Blough, Contracts
Specialist (Gemini);
Morten Andersen, Project
Scientist (Gemini); Stephen
Goodsell, Gemini Technical
Representative; Alexander
van der Horst, Project
Scientist (GWU); Manual
Maldonado Medina,
Mechanical (Fractal);
Christina Thöne, Deputy
Project Manager (IAA);
Ronnie Killough, Control
Software (SwRI); Susan
Pope, Systems Engineer
(SwRI); Pete Roming,
Project Manager (SwRI);
Scot Kleinman, Gemini
Associate Director,
Development; and Jeff
Radwick, Systems Engineer
(Gemini). Photo credit:
Stephen Goodsell
A month later, SwRI successfully led
a virtual informal Systems Require-
ments Review. Its main aim was to re-
view the top-level requirements, the
status of each needed trade study,
and how the current design complied
with the top-level requirements. Since
the review, the OCTOCAM team has
been progressing the design, evolving
the science team, and writing project
plans in preparation for the CoDR to
be held in Hilo, Hawai’i, on August 2–3.
— Stephen Goodsell
July 2017
GeminiFocus
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