WIYN Progress

Commissioning of the NEID Spectrometer. Re-started after the COVID-19 shutdown in December 2020, NEID commissioning has progressed smoothly despite the pandemic-related restrictions in place for the health and safety of NOIRLab staff. The Operations Readiness Review (ORR), a major milestone which will mark the transition of the project to routine operations, is currently underway.

The first half of the review, held on 28 April 2021, focused on the performance requirements of the Port Adapter, Facilities, and the WIYN Telescope. This portion of the review thoroughly examined the ability of these major subsystems as well as that of the NEID queue system and personnel to support NEID in its mandate to produce world-class RV spectroscopy science for the US national community. The NEID team demonstrated strong performance in the ability of the (1) Port Adapter to deliver stable stellar and solar light to the spectrometer; (2) Facility and clean room to provide an ultra-stable environment for NEID; and (3) queue system to sustain efficient operations.

Issues of concern and metrics in progress were also discussed with the panel for guidance. The formal interim report is awaited.

The team is currently working at full throttle to prepare for the second half of the ORR, scheduled for 2 June, which will examine the performance of the spectrometer and data pipeline to meet the demanding RV accuracy requirements.

Hydra’s Big Upgrade. In other exciting developments, the workhorse multi-object spectrometer Hydra is receiving a major upgrade. Well into its third decade of service, Hydra continues to be a productive instrument in high demand at WIYN. The mechanical robot (gripper) that positions the optical fibers as desired on the 1-degree wide focal plane is being replaced by a faster and less error-prone version. The control electronics and software are also getting a complete rebuild using modern PLC systems and machine-vision technology.

WIYN partnered with an industrial automation company, PROD Inc, on the design, development, and integration of the new Hydra, christened Hydra 21. The teams worked at a rapid pace despite the pandemic and, within a year of its inception, Hydra 21 is at WIYN after having passed factory-acceptance testing last week. A small WIYN team consisting of William McBride (WIYN senior engineer), Susan Ridgway (WIYN scientist and project manager), and Emily Hunting (WIYN optical engineer), attended the testing event at PROD’s facility in El Paso, Texas.

The next few weeks will be busy with installation and commissioning, with the first science observations scheduled for mid-June. The new Hydra robot will be able to configure the fibers at least two times faster than before, with great accuracy, using current industry-standard technologies. Hydra 21 is responsive to the strong desire from its user community for a faster, more efficient instrument that is capable of more compact and dense field configurations. Hydra 21 will also be able to manage any future upgrades to the aging optical fiber cables. Welcome Hydra 21!