THE UNITED KINGDOM INFRARED TELESCOPE
ANNUAL REPORT
2001-2002

3. Report on Operations

3.1. Summary

2001 and 2002 were years of intense activity in both UKIRT operations and development, with the delivery of two new instruments and development and testing of software needed for future flexible scheduling.

• The MICHELLE project was brought to completion in 2001, culminating in the delivery of the instrument in late summer, and first light observing taking place on August 22nd 2001.

• The UIST project delivered almost exactly one year after Michelle, with first light on the telescope taking place on September 24th 2002.

• Both instruments were ORAC-ready and progressed quickly through commissioning into shared-risks use, with ORACDR pipeline reduction in use starting with the first PATT user. Both instruments were used on a very wide range of science projects, employing all of their possible observing modes, from the earliest stages of common use.

• With the approval of the UKIRT Board, preparations began for a switch to conditions-matching flexible scheduling in early 2003. The key component of this work - the Observation Management Project - underwent an intense development cycle after its Critical Design Review in summer 2001. It was initially released for staff use in March 2002, followed by full commissioning in October 2002. By the end of 2002, all the elements required for full flexible scheduling were in place.

• The Wide Field Camera (WFCAM) project progressed from early tendering, through Preliminary Design Review in late 2001, into a series of subsystem Critical Design Reviews carried out through 2002. Progress was good, and by early 2003 the project was ready for the first cryostat cooldown.