NGVLA CSV Working group Kickoff telecon

Details

• Date: Tues 22 Jan 2019, 20 UT = 15 ET = 13 MT
• Location: CV-ER230, SO-280
  • Audio Hub: 434-817-6283
• Participants:
  • CV: Todd, Jeff (missing: John H.)
  • Audio: Walter, Eric
  • SO: Joan, Vivek, Rob, Bryan, Rafael, Chris, Barry

Agenda

1. Review charges to the group for 2019 (PDF from Selina)
   • Quoting: "The CSV-WG will play a critical role in the technical design of the ngVLA. The initial charge to the CSV-WG is as follows:"
     • Consult widely with the construction and commissioning communities of ALMA, VLBA, and the EVLA to provide advice to the ngVLA Project Office on CSV concerns.
     • Provide the ngVLA CSV concept. Prepare a preliminary CSV plan to guide the design of the facility and the commissioning approach.
   • Total billable hours allotted (250), ~20-25 per person
   • Near-term deliverables
     • CSV Concept document (due March 30, 2019)
       • Must be consistent with other subsystems Concept documents
       • Current draft outline
     • CSV Preliminary Plan document (due October 30, 2019)
       • Provide further details on milestones, including requirements for initiating, and criteria for passing
       • Provide an estimate of the efforts and resources required, and the skeleton of a timeline
2. High priority tasks for completing Concept document
   • Identify additional statements in other Concept documents (Transition plan, etc.) that impact CSV
     • Example: my list from Operations Concept in draft outline
     • Assign other Technical documents to specific group members to read (full list from Kay)
       Proposed assignments:
       • Brisken: ngVLA LO Reference and Timing: Technical Specifications; and Reference Design (Shillue)
       • ???: Long Haul Fiber Workgroup Preliminary Report (Halstead/Hart/Erickson/Shillue/Selina)
       • Dhawan: Independent Phase Cal System: Preliminary Requirements; and Reference Design (Erickson)
       • Hiriart: Computing & Software: Preliminary Requirements; and Reference Design Architecture (Hiriart)
       • Butler: Array Calibration: Priminary Requirements; and Preliminary Plan (Butler)
       • Clark: Central Signal Processor: Preliminary Requirements, and Reference Design (Ojeda)
       • Hunter: Front End: Preliminary Requirements; and Reference Design (Grammar)
       • Kern: Monitor & Control System: Hardware Technical Requirements; and Hardware System Design (Koski)
       • Murphy: Array Configuration: Preliminary Requirements; and Reference Design Description (Carilli)
       • Hibbard: Transition concept (Chandler)
       • Wrobel: Reference Observing Program (Wrobel)
       • Hunter: ngVLA Antenna: Optical Reference Design (Dunbar/Chalmers)
       • Selina: ngVLA Antenna: Preliminary Technical Specifications; and Reference Design (Dunbar)
       • Selina, Mason: ngVLA Short Baseline Array Antenna: Preliminary Technical Specifications; and Reference Design (Dunbar)
       • Hunter: NGVLA Reference Design (Selina, et al.)
       • Hunter: Stakeholder Requirements (Zuckerberg/Treacy/Selina/Hiriart)
       • Hunter: System Requirements (Selina)
     • Some documents available on Linux, but contact author for latest version
       • SO: gygax:/home/ngvla/Techdocs
     • Identify important questions to ask of other subsystems that are not addressed in current documents
       1. Example: will we use a tower or a satellite beacon (or both) for holography?
       2. What else?
   • Coordinate with AIV Concept document to clarify interface (overlapping members: Kern, Dhawan, Hiriart)
   • Identify major concerns for AIV+CSV that will make our job difficult (and affect project schedule)
     1. Demonstrating acceptable antenna performance after re-assembly at remote stations
     2. Demonstrating that long baselines (> 40km) will work -- need to do this early in CSV, rather than later
     3. What else?
3. Action items
   • Now til Feb 4: Read your document assignment and add comments to section 2 of Draft outline (or email them)
   • Week of Feb 4-8: I will convert outline to prose (any comments yet?). Will share for editing via Overleaf.
   • Feb 9 - 19: Review and comment on first draft
4. Next telecons: monthly, propose same time and day-of-week (third Tuesday)
   • Feb 19: Discuss concerns with first draft, and what feedback to give to other Subsystems Concept doc authors
   • Mar 19: Identify final issues to fix in Concept doc, begin planning the next doc

Minutes (written by Todd)

• Initial discussion: questioning of the scope of CSV vs. AIV and SRDP
  • Barry: AIV = antennas, and CSV = systems ?
  • Vivek: AIV should include stable fringes
  • Bryan: SRDP should be separate
  • Barry, Vivek: but we need SRDP for Early Science
  • Jeff: important that things like Observing sequence are specified (Todd: ALMA failed at this in many cases)
  • Jeff: important that AIV formally accepts the software, ahead of CSV (ALMA had CSV do the acceptance)
  • Todd: focus of CSV evolves from working with AIV team toward working with Operations team to insure that Early Science and SRDP are successful
  • Jeff: we write down the type of people we need
• Antenna construction, and surface verification
  • Rob: there is a mold, and integration with backup structure happens on the plains
  • Barry: what about holography?
  • Todd: yes, particularly on the distant stations; cannot have a tower everywhere, so we either need celestial holography or satellite beacon holography
  • Bryan: celestial holography never worked on long VLB baselines, but there are 3 stations planned at each LBO site
  • Todd asked: will AIV test receiver package with each antenna first on the plains before that antenna is disassembled and moved to Long Arm station?
  • Rob: The plan is to only assemble antenna once, and receiver will be a large package tested prior to shipment to antenna
  • Todd: I worry about integration issues (wiring etc.) at remote stations
  • Barry: Experienced team will do the assembly at each remote station
  • Chris(?): Maybe we can have one antenna on the plains where receiver packages can be tested first?
  • Todd: sounds like a good idea to me
  • Todd asked Rafael: has computing thought about how it will support commissioning operations (like holography) at remote stations?
  • Barry: good fiber connection is essential to Long Arms, with that almost anything can be done
• General principles
  • Jeff: Subarrays need to be early, with the capability of different software versions on different subarrays concurrently
  • Vivek: Should also have subarrays of people for specific goals, like outfitting of remote antennas
  • Jeff: What does the workday look like? maintenance and construction during daytime, and observing at night? will need operators
  • Walter: Simulators would be useful so that work on software needed later can get started early
  • Jeff: need to write down what kind of simulators we need (e.g., ALMA has an observing mode simulator, which takes SB and outputs the scan sequence)
  • All: we agreed we need a manual mode prior to SB operations (and Rafael has this in his plans)
• Early Science issues
  • Joan: we need to link a date for start of early science, nominally Jan 1, 2028 (this was later discussed between Rob, Eric, Joan, Todd who agreed on Oct 1, 2028 with a Call ~6 months prior)
  • Todd: is there a group responsible for QA0?
  • Jeff: QA0 is not in Operations plan
  • Remember that observing time is guaranteed, not achieved rms
  • Based on Reference science doc, CSV should make a list of modes for ES (to be approved by Science) Don't wait for Science group
  • Rob: prioritization policy of project is that ES does not dictate deployment plan
  • Joan: resources for ES, how to attract external scientists early on?
  • Vivek: CSV group chooses which people to come help, to insure they are useful
  • Todd: this is in contrast to RSRO which began with a successful science proposal
  • Todd: postdocs hired for ngVLA will be essential, and perhaps external postdocs
  • Jeff: how do we make sure that postdocs with the necessary experience are available?
• Upcoming events
  • Todd will convert outline to prose during week of Feb 4-8, in overleaf
  • Rob: latex is allowed, and you can ask Chris Hales for the template (DONE)
  • next monthly telecons: Feb 19, Mar 19, agreed, check with Chris Hales to avoid conflict with semi-weekly Calibration group meetings on those dates (CONFIRMED)
  • first week of April: external review (CSV concept doc will be included in that)