the months ahead , we will step up our efforts to restore the Gemini Multi-conjugate adaptive optics System ( GeMS ) to its intended performance , and improve Altair , Gemini North ’ s adaptive optics system . The STAC further recommended , and the Board approved , to explore options to move GeMS to the North , once the Gemini Highresolution Optical SpecTrograph ( GHOST ) and OCTOCAM become fully operational in the South . This is a bold suggestion , but one that does make a great deal of sense for many reasons , including ensuring that GeMS is guaranteed the time it needs at the telescope , and giving a unique capability and a new purpose to Gemini North .
Changes to Large and Long Programs
Since 2014 , Gemini has enabled Large and Long Programs ( LLPs ), via a pool of time contributed by participating partners . The aim of LLPs is to produce “ flagship ” science by granting major allocations of time to programs that are either large ( in the sense that they exceed what one would normally expect the national Time Allocation Committees ( TACs ) to allocate ), or long ( spanning multiple semesters ), or both . However , while we have achieved completion rates comparable to those in the regular queue for most of these programs , a formal target completion rate has been missing . This leaves Principal Investigators uncertain regarding what to expect , and is inconsistent with the “ flagship ” designation .
At the recent STAC meeting , we asked the committee to help us resolve this problem . They agreed that for LLPs in Band 1 a target completion rate of at least 80 % should be guaranteed . As discussed in the current LLP Announcement of Opportunity , if a Band-1 LLP reaches the end of its term ( the set of semesters over which it was granted time ) and is less than 80 % complete , we will extend it automatically semester by semester until it reaches that mark . LLPs at term with more than 80 % completion , and Band-2 LLPs , still have the option of formally requesting an extension via the LLP TAC . This new policy won ’ t apply to Target of Opportunity programs , and it won ’ t be backdated to existing LLPs .
An End to Rollover
The process of “ rolling over ” designated queue programs until they are complete has been a feature of Gemini ’ s operations for many years . However , it added a significant degree of complication and guesswork in semester planning , was not well understood by Principal Investigators or even by Time Allocation Committee ( TAC ) members , and was not applied by all participants .
Recognizing the benefit that rollover brought for programs in Band 1 , we have been discussing , over the course of a number of Operations Working Group meetings , the possibility of replacing it with something simpler ( or removing it altogether ). By August 2017 , we agreed on a proposal : to replace the current rollover system , in which selected Band-1 programs are extended for two full semesters after the conclusion of their first , with a new rollover system , in which we allow all Band-1 programs to begin execution before their designated semester and continue executing throughout the entire semester after that .
This proposal was discussed with the STAC , the data that led to it were described , and the STAC approved the proposal ; their recommendations can be seen on the Gemini website . It appears that the amount of time required to support this will be small enough that , at least initially , we will not topslice anything from the TAC process in a given semester . We will reassess after a year of operating this way . As with the formal
64 GeminiFocus January 2018 / 2017 Year in Review