August 6-10, 2009 LGS-SWIFT observing run

Nightly Summaries

Aug. 7, 2009 UT
Clear, 2.0-3.0" seeing due to primary mirror 6 C hotter than dome air. Laser power 6.5 W. Performed LGS setup tasks. Observed 2 LGS-AO science objects in second half of night, with poor AO performance. Lost NGS frequently due to poor seeing and bright sky.

Aug. 8, 2009 UT
Clear, ~1.4" seeing. Laser power 8.6 W. Boresighted LLT (required ~120" move to W). Tested laser chirping: Found no improvement, but laser unstable at high chirping rates. Closed 10pm-2am due to high humidity. Observed 1 LGS science object for 90 min. integration with good AO performance (~0.75" FWHM).

Aug. 9, 2009 UT
Clear, ~1.0" seeing. Laser power 9.0 W. Tested target centering strategies. Observed 3 science targets for 200 min. integration time with excellent AO performance (~0.4" FWHM)

Aug. 10, 2009 UT
Clear, ~0.8" seeing. Laser power 9.0-9.5 W. Gathered LGS-SWIFT PSF data. Observed 2.. science target so far. Return as high as 60000 DN/s/subap (10:25 UT).

Aug. 11, 2009 UT
Clear, ~1.0" seeing. Laser power 9.5 W. Return 75000 DN/s/subap (3:55 UT).

Safety Documents

• Laser projection schedule (FAA letter of non-objection)
  • 8/6/09, 20:42:00 - 8/7/09, 05:05:00 PDT
  • 8/7/09, 20:41:00 - 8/8/09, 05:05:00 PDT
  • 8/8/09, 20:40:00 - 8/9/09, 05:06:00 PDT
  • 8/9/09, 20:39:00 - 8/10/09, 05:07:00 PDT
  • 8/10/09, 20:38:00 - 8/11/09, 05:08:00 PDT
• Securitas spotters are schedule to be on site 20:00-05:15 PST.
• US-STRATCOM documents (LCH contact information)
  • 8/7/09 UT P/A request: stratcom_windows_090807.txt
  • 8/8/09 UT P/A request: stratcom_windows_090808.txt
  • 8/9/09 UT P/A request: stratcom_windows_090809.txt
  • 8/10/09 UT P/A request: stratcom_windows_090810.txt
  • 8/11/09 UT P/A request: stratcom_windows_090811.txt

Personnel schedule

	Thu 8/6	Fri 8/7	Sat 8/8	Sun 8/9	Mon 8/10
Bouchez	X	X	X	X	X
Dekany					?
Peffer	X	X	X	X	X
Roberts	X	X	X
Velur	X			?

Test Plans and Procedures

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 procedures
  • BTO setup (v2.6): doc, pdf
  • BTO alignment (v2.4): doc, pdf
  • BTO alignment, abbreviated version (v1.0): doc, pdf
  • BTO shutdown (v1.1): doc, pdf
• Laser procedures
  • Laser startup (v2.1): doc, pdf
  • Laser shutdown (v1.0): doc, pdf
• Observing procedures:
  • LGS science night checklist (v1.1): doc, pdf
  • NGS Checkout (v3.1): doc, pdf
  • LGS Checkout (v1.0): doc, pdf
  • LGS SWIFT target acquisition (v1.0): doc, pdf

Engineering Experiments (8/6/09)

• Tune non-common path errors on SWIFT imaging camera (650nm & IR dichroics).
• Test guiding using acquisition camera
• Measure AO performance with/without laser chirping