July 23-28, 2007 LGS observing run

Night logs and results

7/24/07 UT
Clear, excellent seeing. Completed laser and BTO setup for first 4 hrs. Then measured bright star performance (~30% Strehl at K), observed several science targets, and measured vignetting on LOWFS. Laser stable at 5.0 W, FWHM=2.3". palm_lgs_log_070724.pdf

7/26/07 UT
Partly cloudy, excellent seeing. AO acquisition camera power supply failed. Used temporary power supply and software integration of video signal. Unable to focus LLT or acquire faint stars. Observed one LGS and several NGS science targets. Laser 5.0W at start, 4.5 W and end of night. palm_lgs_log_070726.pdf

7/27/07 UT
Partly cloudy, excellent seeing. 6 AO software crashes during night. Observed 2 LGS targets and several NGS backup targets, with frequent interruption by clouds. Laser power 7.0 W at start, 6.9 W at end of night, FWHM=2.6". LGS return significantly improved (200 cts @ 150 Hz.) palm_lgs_log_070727.pdf

7/28/07 UT
Mostly cloudy, good seeing. No AO software crashes; used IDL background routine. Observed 4 LGS targets through thin clouds, with frequent interruptions by clouds (lost ~4hr). Laser power 7.2 W at start, 7.0 W at end of night, FWHM=2.4". Laser AOM driver failed at 12:35am, but Renu brought it back to life. LGS performance good despite clouds. palm_lgs_log_070728.pdf

7/29/07 UT
Partly cloudy, excellent seeing. No AO software crashes. Observed 5 LGS targets, with several interruptions by clouds (lost ~2hr). Laser power 7.0 W at start, 6.9 W at end of night, FWHM=2.2". Laser AOM driver failed again at 03:15am, but Renu brought it back to life. Set new LGS Strehl record of ~45% in K (to be confirmed). Excellent end to a cloudy observing run. palm_lgs_log_070729.pdf

ASCAM movies

data missing
7/24/07 UT	7/26/07 UT	7/27/07 UT	7/28/07 UT	7/29/07 UT

Safety documents

• FAA documents:
  • Approved for projection 20:55 - 04:50 PDT, 0-45 deg. zenith angle.
  • Securitas spotters are scheduled to be on site 20:15-05:00 PDT.
• US-STRATCOM documents:
  • Laser Clearing House Reports Handbook
  • 07/24/07 UT P/A request: All targets clear .
  • 07/26/07 UT P/A request: All targets clear .
  • 07/27/07 UT P/A request: All targets clear .
  • 07/28/07 UT P/A request: All targets clear .
  • 07/29/07 UT P/A request: All targets clear .

Personnel and engineering schedules

	Mon. 7/23	Tue. 7/24 (NGS)	Wed. 7/25	Thu. 7/26	Fri. 7/27	Sat. 7/28
Angione	X	X	X	X	X	X
Bouchez	X	X	X	X	X	X
Cromer	X	X	X	X	X	X
Guiwits	X
Martin		X	X	X	X	X
Petrie	X	X
Roberts	X	X	X	X	?
Tripathi	X	X	X	X	X	X
Trinh	X
Troy					X	X

• Engineering Schedule:
  • v1.0 (7/18/07): xls, pdf

Procedures and test plans

Please post your test plans on the Test Plan Library page, and add a link below.

• AO setup
  • AO system internal focus: doc, pdf
  • AO bench setup and checkout: doc, pdf
• BTO setup
  • BTO setup (v2.3): doc, pdf
  • BTO checkout: doc (v2.3), pdf (v2.3)
  • BTO shutdown (v1.1): doc, pdf
• Observing procedures:
  • NGS Checkout (v3.1): doc, pdf
  • Laser Acquisition (v5.1): doc, pdf
  • LGS target acquisition (v3.5): doc, pdf
  • LGS target acquisition (v4.0): doc, pdf
• Engineering experiments:
  • AO Optimization on the laser at zenith: doc, pdf
  • Low-order loop optimization: doc, pdf