BIWEEKLY CALENDAR OF THE ALMA PROJECT at NRAO 3 July 2006 - 17 July 2006 ******************************** THIS FORTNIGHT**************************** NINS (National Institute of Natural Sciences, Japan) Agreement: NINS President Yoshiro Shimura signed the ALMA agreement 2006 July 4. This marks the beginning of the trilateral ALMA project. The ALMA Board, in its meeting in Chile in mid-June, had recommended that ALMA funding agencies sign the document. ALMA officially becomes The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) when all parties sign. The ALMA Board approved a new standard description of ALMA for the trilateral project--Revised ALMA Standard Description: The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international astronomy facility, is a partnership between Europe, Japan and North America in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. ALMA is funded in Europe by the European Southern Observatory (ESO), in Japan by the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS) in cooperation with the Academia Sinica in Taiwan and in North America by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in cooperation with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). ALMA construction and operations are led on behalf of Europe by ESO, on behalf of Japan by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and on behalf of North America by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), which is managed by Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI). ALMA Board approval: 2006-03-24 Effective: 2006-07-01 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- On 29 June, Eduardo Donoso reported the completion of the first ALMA antenna pad, at the Vertex Site Erection Facility adjacent to the future OSF using an EIE foundation design. This is pad # 5 at the Vertex Site. Congratulations Eduardo and Team ALMA! Many others will follow and within a year these foundations will begin to sprout the antennas from which ALMA science will eventually blossom! Photo: http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMAVxFdn5done.jpg ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The ALMA Camp Recreation Room was finished on time and on budget. An inauguration party was held on July 4Th, also celebrating Independence Day (US). http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMARecCenter.mov ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- At the time of the last biweekly calendar, the full language of the US House funding bills was not yet available. It is now. From http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp109:FLD010:@1(hr520): -------MRE and ALMA words-------- The Committee recommendation includes requested funding for five continuing projects, as follows: $47,890,000 for Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA); $27,400,000 for EarthScope; $28,650,000 for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory; $42,880,000 for the Scientific Ocean Drilling Vessel; and $9,130,000 for South Pole Station Modernization. In addition, the recommendation includes initial funding for three new project starts, as follows: $56,000,000 for the Alaska Region Research Vessel; $13,500,000 for the Ocean Observatories Initiative; and $11,800,000 for the National Ecological Observatory Network. The recommendation does not include $3,000,000 requested to reimburse the Judgment Fund of the U.S. Treasury. The Committee is aware that the NSF has recently completed a detailed re-examination of the ALMA project. The United States' cost for completing the new baseline is estimated to be 45 percent higher than originally projected. Although a part of the increase is due to rising labor and material costs, some of these new liabilities are the result of management problems, in particular, the lack of partner integration and centralized decision making that can potentially cause cost growth. While the recommendation includes the full request for the ALMA project for 2007, the NSF is directed to submit a report to the Committee by October 1, 2006, on how it intends to correct the overall management and project issues. In the event that there are additional ALMA funding requirements in fiscal year 2007, the Committee expects NSF to submit a reprogramming of funds from lower priorities or new starts in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 605 of this Act. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ALMA is not funded by ALMA, of course, but SOFIA is an instrument which we expect will execute synergistic science. There are words on this facility also: ---------NASA------------ The Committee understands that NASA is in the process of reviewing the future course of action on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The Committee encourages NASA to propose a reallocation of funding through the regular reprogramming process should this review result in a continuation of the program. And the results of the review are in as in the biweekly report: The world's largest airborne astronomical observatory has passed a technical and programmatic review that could potentially lead to the continuation of the mission. NASA's Program Management Council concluded that there were no insurmountable technical or programmatic challenges to the continued development of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). The agency has developed a technically viable plan to proceed with the development of the SOFIA aircraft, subject to the identification of appropriate funding offsets. http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2006/jun/HQ_06240_SOFIA_update.html --------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Past issues of this Calendar may be viewed at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMACalendars.html See also the JAO ALMA Calendar overview at: http://www.alma.cl/alma_project *************************************************************************** General Happenings Sky: Full moon, 10 July (exact at 11:02 p.m. EDT). OSF (Ops Support Facility, 9600ft altitude): The first antenna pad, No 5 at the Vertex Site Erection Facility, has been completed. The ALMA Camp Recreation Room was completed on time and on budget. AOS (Array Ops Site, 16570ft altitude): From 3-7 July, the APEX facility has seldom registered more than 1mm of PWV. Santiago: Head of HR Mr. Alvaro Leiva AOC: *************************************************************************** DAILY CALENDAR (Times EDT ) see https://wikio.nrao.edu/bin/view/ALMA/AlmaCalendar Mon 19 Jun All day: Assembly, Integration, Verification and Commissioning (AIVC) meeting, Santiago Tue 20 Jun Mercury is at greatest elongation, 25° east of the Sun in the evening sky. All day: Assembly, Integration, Verification and Commissioning (AIVC) meeting, Santiago 10:30 AM-11:30 AM: JAO IPT Telecon Wed 21 Jun First Day of Winter (Southern Hemisphere) Thu 22 Jun Venus, Moon and Pleiades nearby before sunrise. Fri 23 Jun Sat 24 Jun Sun 25 Jun New Moon Mon 26 Jun St. Peter & St. Paul Holiday, Chile Tue 27 Jun 10:30 AM-11:30 AM: JAO IPT Telecon 4:00 PM-5:00 PM: NAScienceIPT teleconference (open to all interested parties) (434)296-7082 Wed 28 Jun 10:30 AM EDT: Science IPT Telecon Thu 29 Jun Fri 30 Jun Sat 1 Jul Sun 2 Jul Mon 3 Jul NRAO Holiday Tue 4 Jul Independence Day Holiday, US. ****************************** UPCOMING EVENTS **************************** Jun 19-20 all day AIVCSV Meeting Santiago Jun 30 1800 UT ANASAC Meeting Telecon Jul 25-26 FE face-to-face CV Jul 27-28 all day FE LO CDR CV Aug 8-9 B7 cartridge CDR Grenoble Aug 28 Move of PSI to ATF Sept 16-17 all dat ASAC face-to-face Arcetri Sept 22-23 evening Dave Matthews Band CV JPJ Arena opening November 9-10 all day ALMA Board Meeting Madrid TBD Nov 13-16 all day Science with ALMA: a new era for Astrophysics Madrid ******************************* TECHNICAL NEWS **************************** ALMA Memo # 549: Reference values of arterial oxygen saturation and heart rate at the ALMA site Author: Seiichi Sakamoto Abstract: Arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) and heart rate at the ALMA site were monitored with portable pulse oximeters for an astronomer over five years. A set of data is presented to provide a reference range of these values at the ALMA site. View a pdf version of ALMA Memo #549 at: http://www.alma.nrao.edu/memos/html-memos/alma549/memo549.pdf ******************************ALSO OF INTEREST***************************** ALMA has openings for Head of Science Operations, Head of Technical Services, and Head of Administration. Please see: http://www.nrao.edu/administration/personnel_office/careers.shtml ------------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** Please send information for upcoming calendars by Friday evening of the preceding biweekly period to Jennifer Neighbours or Al Wootten via e-mail (jneighbo at nrao.edu or awootten at nrao.edu). The calendar will be issued between late Friday and sometime on Monday by e-mail to all NRAO scientific staff members and anyone else interested. A specific mailing list, alma-info, has been created for anyone wishing to receive it. Past issues are available at http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/ALMACalendars.html