How we completed major maintenance and new installations at Las Cumbres Observatory during the COVID-19 pandemic

Daniel R. Harbeck; Annie Kirby; Nikolaus Volgenau; Mark Elphick; Lisa J. Storrie-Lombardi; Todd Henderson; Brook Taylor; Patrick B. Conway; Mark Bowman; Fernando Rios; Akihiko Fukui; Norio Narita

doi:10.1117/12.2630273

25 August 2022 How we completed major maintenance and new installations at Las Cumbres Observatory during the COVID-19 pandemic

Daniel R. Harbeck, Annie Kirby, Nikolaus Volgenau, Mark Elphick, Lisa J. Storrie-Lombardi, Todd Henderson, Brook Taylor, Patrick B. Conway, Mark Bowman, Fernando Rios, Akihiko Fukui, Norio Narita

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX; 1218618 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630273
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

Las Cumbres Observatory (LCOGT) operates a network of more than 25 telescopes that are globally distributed over seven sites. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic restricting travel to most of those sites since March 2020, LCOGT achieved several significant operational milestones: (i) We deployed a new multi-channel imager (MuSCAT3) at Haleakala Observatory. (ii) We installed two new 1-meter telescopes at Teide Observatory. (iii) We performed essential maintenance with local staff at the sites. The latter included opening two of the NRES spectrograph’s thermal and pressure enclosures - a task traditionally executed by trained LCOGT personnel only. We discuss the evolution of LCOGT’s paradigm for maintenance. Sustaining observatory operations increasingly relied on local observatory staff, of various skill levels and capabilities, to execute the highest priority work with remote support. We made this possible with extensive planning, being sensitive to local conditions, and bringing in expertise to support and guide in real-time via extended Zoom sessions.

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Daniel R. Harbeck, Annie Kirby, Nikolaus Volgenau, Mark Elphick, Lisa J. Storrie-Lombardi, Todd Henderson, Brook Taylor, Patrick B. Conway, Mark Bowman, Fernando Rios, Akihiko Fukui, and Norio Narita "How we completed major maintenance and new installations at Las Cumbres Observatory during the COVID-19 pandemic", Proc. SPIE 12186, Observatory Operations: Strategies, Processes, and Systems IX, 1218618 (25 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2630273

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