The ESO Paranal Observatory is the site of the UT4 YEPUN telescope, which accommodates four TOPTICA-MPB Laser Guide Star Units (LGSUs) within its Adaptive Optics Facility (AOF). Additionally, three similar laser systems are scheduled for installation, with each telescope housing one laser unit, resulting in a total of seven lasers at Paranal. Preparations are underway at the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) to integrate six more lasers. Recently we have introduced innovative strategies to guarantee the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of operations and technical maintenance. Pivotal initiatives include enhancing real-time monitoring of systems and subsystems. This approach enables a comprehensive evaluation of system usage, leading to optimized strategies and a 20% increase in the lifespan of critical components. Furthermore, the implementation of automated monitoring for critical system parameters has effectively decreased the necessity for visual inspections, thereby optimizing staffing allocation. The meticulous monitoring of environmental parameters within the telescope, coupled with the development of AI tools, facilitates the timely detection of deviations from technical specifications, triggering warnings and alarms. The AI tools also exhibit the potential to predict dangerous variations in the environment that affect system performance, enabling proactive measures to reduce troubleshooting time and ensuring data-driven interventions. The development of tools for comprehensive data analysis, covering health checks and operational logs of laser units, has resulted in a remarkable 25% reduction in staffing allocation for this activity. This streamlined process expedites fault analysis and facilitates the swift identification of the root cause of critical issues. Through the implementation of these strategic initiatives, we are not only enhancing the performance and longevity of the 4LGSF but also securing its sustained contribution to the scientific community. These efforts underscore our commitment to advancing technological capabilities and operational efficiency in astronomical research.
The GRAVITY+ project includes the upgrade of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer infrastructure and of the instrument GRAVITY to improve sky coverage, high contrast capabilities, and faint science. The improved sky coverage is obtained via the implementation of one Laser Guide Star (LGS) on each Unit Telescope (UT). This first requires an upgrade of the infrastructure of each of the UTs, which was made over 18 months in 2022 and 2023. The addition of the LGS system requires the implementation of multiple components on several areas of the telescope. These areas include the top ring, the centerpiece, a new platform under the Nasmyth platform, and in the basement. The system includes pointing and aircraft avoidance cameras, the laser projector, laser and electronics cabinets, a heat exchanger, and pumps. As none of the UTs were developed with the infrastructure needed to carry such a system, the same upgrade is made for each of the three UTs. This upgrade consists of a full adaptation of the centerpiece, an upgrade of one of the altitude cable wraps, the installation of a platform under the Nasmyth platform, and the implementation of a cooling circuit running from the basement to the new sub-Nasmyth platform via the azimuth cable wrap. This upgrade requires two missions per telescope, for a total of 30 nights out of operation per telescope. The centerpiece activity also requires the removal of the M1 mirror and cell. The activities were therefore coordinated with the regular recoating of the M1 to minimize the number of nights out of operation. The upgrade required approximately 7.5 staff years of work and 36 missions from Europe to Chile, with around 60 people participating in at least one of the seven missions.
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