Gemini North Unavailable Until January 24, 2014

The shutter opening system of the Gemini North enclosure has suffered a catastrophic and unexpected failure (see Figure). Access to the components within the drive box is difficult, and special tools and parts have to be fabricated. It is expected that the repair will be completed by January 24th, however it may take longer if there are prolonged periods of bad weather which prevent access to the system, which is located on the dome exterior.

During this forced shutdown, we will carry out the planned repair of the GMOS-North on-instrument wavefront sensor, and we are looking at pulling forward other engineering maintenance tasks that can be performed simultaneously, to make best use of our time off the sky. The shutter system for the Gemini South enclosure is being examined for any indications of a similar failure.

Updates will be provided here, via email to active Gemini investigators, on the Gemini website, and the Gemini Facebook page, as available.