Quarterly summaries of the progress and status of the SRDP Project. Intended for internal consumption and distributed to the NRAO coord list.
March 4, 2019
Project
Scope for Wave 1 was realigned to accommodate RealFast [VLA commensal transient project], which displaced some previously scheduled work within DMS. The scope change for RealFast, along with other schedule delays have restructured the SRDP Pilot a bit, with a potential delayed rollout of the workspace infrastructure to the Wave 1 release.
The first of the Wave 1 capabilities is nearing completion. The NRAO Archive will soon allow authorized users to download calibrated Measurement Sets for ALMA Cycle 5 and Cycle 6 data (this capability already exists for VLA). The calibrated MSs are automatically restored from the ALMA pipeline generated calibrations upon demand. Scientific validation is proceeding with detailed comparison of restored products to what is provided by NAASC via LAVA process.
The delivery of a next generation Proposal Submission Tool (ngPST) is a key enabler of true SRDP operations. The SRDP project has agreed to include the creation of this tool as part of the SRDP project deliverables. Project management plan is under development, a change request (to the SRDP scope) will be submitted once scope of ngPST work has been understood.
Heuristics
VLASS RFI flagging heuristics are being evaluated for inclusion in the PI pipeline along with other VLASS functionality.
The pipeline tasks necessary to conduct ALMA imaging based on PI-specified parameters request through the NRAO Archive are undergoing final testing for validation.
Operations
A draft SRDP operations plan was distributed to the SRDP management team at the end of December, the document is in stages of final draft.
Three applicants for the Socorro Scientific Data Analyst position were shortlisted and interviewed by phone. Two have been invited for in-person visits the first week of March. (One has since withdrawn.)
An NRAO-internal review (internal to the Observatory, not the project) of the SRDP Operations Plan is being organized for late in the month of March; a charge has been set, a review plan is in draft, selection of a chair and committee is in progress
Implementation
Improved VLA flux calibration will be brought into the Standard PI Pipeline for CASA 5.6.
Pipeline work to support PI directed ALMA cube imaging is ongoing, Support for PI directed ALMA cube imaging in the AAT and integration with the pipeline work is moving into the work queue
A testing environment setup is in progress, and a detailed test plan has been developed, first set of test procedures are under development for OUS restores