Proceedings Article | 13 September 2012
KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Databases, Observatories, Data storage, Excel, Human-machine interfaces, Mirrors, Visualization, Astronomical telescopes, Systems engineering
An integrated scheduling and program management system is being developed for the MMT Observatory (MMTO),
Arizona, USA. A systems engineering approach is used to combine existing and new relational databases, spreadsheets,
file storage systems, and web-based user interfaces into a single unified system. An overview of software design, data
management, user interfaces, and techniques for performance assessment is presented. Goals of this system include
streamlined data management and an optimized user experience. The MMTO has over a dozen different telescope
configurations, including three secondary mirrors and a wide range of observing instruments. Scheduling is complex for
the varying telescope configurations, limited available observing time, and appropriate astronomic conditions (e.g., lunar
phase) for each science project. Scheduled telescope configurations can be used to perform safety checks of actual
configuration during telescope operations. Programmatic information is automatically input into nightly telescope
operator (TO) logs by the system. The TO's provide additional information into the system on telescope usage,
observing conditions (e.g., weather conditions), and observatory closure (e.g., from instrument malfunction or inclement
weather). All of this information is synthesized to assess telescope and observatory performance. Web interfaces to the
system can be used by observers to submit information, such as travel plans, instrumentation requirements, and
observing catalogs. A service request (SR) (i.e., trouble report) system has also been developed for tracking operational
issues. The specific needs of the MMTO have been met through in-house software development of this integrated
scheduling and program management system.
