Navigating instruments operational challenges and extending traditional maintenance frontiers

Patricia Guajardo; Javier Valenzuela; Maxime Boccas; Eduardo Garces; Chester Rojas; Roberto Castillo; Jose Luis Alvarez; Alvaro Diaz; Laurent Pallanca; Juan Beltran; Sergio Abadie; Nicolas Haddad; Marcos Ortega; Alex Morales; Rodrigo Badinez

doi:10.1117/12.3019916

18 July 2024 Navigating instruments operational challenges and extending traditional maintenance frontiers

Patricia Guajardo, Javier Valenzuela, Maxime Boccas, Eduardo Garces, Chester Rojas, Roberto Castillo, Jose Luis Alvarez, Alvaro Diaz, Laurent Pallanca, Juan Beltran, Sergio Abadie, Nicolas Haddad, Marcos Ortega, Alex Morales, Rodrigo Badinez

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 13096, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy X; 130967F (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019916
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

The advancement of technologies in Interferometry and Adaptive Optics (AO) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal Observatory calls for an updated approach to maintenance strategies. This new approach draws on the observatory's rich operational experience. The Integrated Operations Program (IOP), aiming at integrating operations of VLT and ELT, supports this strategic change, encouraging the ongoing enhancement of maintenance practices. This paper outlines the learnings from recent maintenance work following the installation of Interferometry systems and the Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF). It describes the new maintenance framework being put into practice through the IOP for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and its instruments, breaking it down into categories of Improvement, Preventive, Corrective, and Operational Maintenance types. It also covers root cause analyses for a contamination event. The main goal of this document is to highlight the most significant maintenance challenges faced by the Instrumentation Group at Paranal Observatory, focusing on the period when AOF was set up and the latest interferometry instruments were introduced. Maintenance processes are examined through several observational periods, starting with period 103, which corresponds to the year 2019. The paper also introduces the Technical Time Request system, a tool used for planning the time needed for maintenance activities within the overall schedule of the observatory, which includes all tasks, both technical and observational.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

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Patricia Guajardo, Javier Valenzuela, Maxime Boccas, Eduardo Garces, Chester Rojas, Roberto Castillo, Jose Luis Alvarez, Alvaro Diaz, Laurent Pallanca, Juan Beltran, Sergio Abadie, Nicolas Haddad, Marcos Ortega, Alex Morales, and Rodrigo Badinez "Navigating instruments operational challenges and extending traditional maintenance frontiers", Proc. SPIE 13096, Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy X, 130967F (18 July 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019916

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