DETERMINACIÓN DE PROYECCIONES

structure and its associated principal ground screens structure, a number of critical logisti- cal infrastructure deployments would be required to enable the operations of ACT+MBAC during this first phase of the project. Although ACT+MBAC was not the only existing experimental cosmology or astrophysics facility in the Chajnantor Plateau region during this phase of the ACT project, while other sites in the region in the era were situated across the Plateau surrounding nearby Cerro Chajnantor (most notably the APEX, NANTEN, ASTE, CBI, and early ALMA high-sites), ACT+MBAC was the only site to utilize the small plateau some 100 meters higher in elevation than these sites, on the southwestern face of Cerro Toco. Even with the previous use of this immediate vicinity for temporary experiments like TOCO, which we discussed earlier, the development of ACT+MBAC as a

permanent site in this location required the removal of existing boulders and surface grading of a mid-scale site, to allow for not only the installation of the ACT telescope and ground screen, but also requisite infrastructure to enable this permanent site, including communi- cations, power generation, receiver integration, control system, and storage structures.

Figure 2.24 provides an overview of these principal site infrastructure elements. In ad- dition to the ACT telescope warm optical superstructrue and ground screen, which will be discussed in further detail in the section, which follows, all MBAC-era logistical sys- tems are highlighted. While all of these structures were fundamental to ACT+MBAC operations, perhaps most notable among these are the site power generation and communi- cations/control systems. During the MBAC-era all electrical systems on the site, including the ACT telescope, receiver cryogenics, and all systems necessary for receiver integration, operation, and data acquisition/communications were supplied with electricity generated by one of two diesel generators. The need for redundancy in electricity generation for the ACT site is driven especially by the low pressure and temperature characteristics of the ACT site on Cerro Toco, which drive a limited duty cycle for each of the generators - while one generator is used to supply power to the ACT site, the other can be serviced for its next shift of operation. Typically, the ACT+MBAC site generators operated with a duty cycle duration of roughly 14 days, and component (e.g. filters, etc.) servicing and replacement for each generator would take place during one of these off cycles, typically on a monthly basis. During the MBAC-era, dual XJ150 John Deere (Triton Power Generation) were deployed, each typically supplying 25-30 kW to the site during full observing operations, which is substantially lower than the maximum 150 kW sea-level-elevation-operations rat- ing of these systems, again highlighting the technical limitations of operating the ACT site at 5190 meters in elevation. At full MBAC observing operations on-site, each generator typically consume roughly 240 liters of diesel fuel each day, and are fed by an automatic refueling system, attached to a principal diesel fuel supply tank with a roughly 15,000 liter maximum capacity. Although the nominal operations duty cycle for each generator required

operations team intervention, in principal this fuel system would allow for about 60 days of fully autonomous site operations, assuming fault-free operations for full-efficiency of all site operations systems, without refueling. Given site access challenges however, especially during precipitation events throughout Austral winter months, common ACT operations practice dictates filling the principal diesel fuel supply tank to at or near its maximum capacity when it reaches at or slightly below 50 percent of its capacity. Thus, roughly every 30 days a diesel refilling truck reaches the site for refilling operations, either via the ALMA or Paso de Jama and Pampa la Bola routes, generally given limitations of vehicles of the scale of diesel tanker trucks transiting the Cerro Toco ‘front road’ (Swetz et al. 2011a).

ACT site communications are achieved via a direct line-of-site microwave data up- link/downlink system, which involved the deployment of a principal site communications antenna tower. As shown in Figure 2.24, the location of this tower is roughly 50 meters re- moved from the main ACT site, to ensure that the parabolic antenna mounted to the tower could have a direct line of site with the parabolic antenna tower deployed at the ACT base camp in San Pedro de Atacama. During the ACT+MBAC era, this microwave communica- tions system included a 60 centimeter diameter parabolic antenna mounted at the ACT base camp in San Pedro de Atacama, and a 1.2 meter diameter parabolic antenna mounted at the ACT telescope site. The operational frequency of the dual Orthogon PTP600 transreceiver system used to establish the data link is 5.8 GHz and initial alignment was achieved in part using an intense laser source to aid in optimal optical orientation of the antenna pair across a roughly 40 kilometer distance. The MBAC-era data communications rate was roughly 4 MB/s between the site and San Pedro de Atacama, where internet access is established, though given that the San Pedro de Atacama internet connection was roughly 1 MB/s, this provided the maximum site-to-North America communications data limit. Overall the microwave uplink/downlink is used for both site communications and also to transfer daily telescope operations data to San Pedro de Atacama, where it is stored on physical hard drives for transport for processing elsewhere in the ACT collaboration.

The remaining MBAC-era site deployment structures included dual shipping containers for logistical system, supplies, and hardware storage, as well as a control and equipment room container, and the ACT site receiver integration container. The control container is partitioned into two halves, where one side of the container is used for computer data acqui- sition and control system software operations, with the other half of the container housing, among other systems, the main ACT site electrical bus, the ACT Kuka robotics control system (controlling all ACT telescope warm optical superstructure pointing and slewing operations), as well as cryogenic support equipment, most notably pulse tube compressor systems and cooling equipment. During the MBAC-era, receiver integration was principally completed in North America, with only limited receiver integration (e.g. mostly detector array package deployment) occurring on site. While this allowed the final ACT+MBAC era structure, namely the receiver integration, machine shop, and storage canopy container to be limited in size, it also meant that the MBAC receiver would be required to return to North America between seasons for the deployment of its three bolometer arrays and associated optomechanical subassemblies. Following any diagnostic or laboratory testing required during MBAC operations within the ACT receiver integration and machine shop container, the receiver would then be lifted via come-alongs into the bed of a site opera- tions truck, driven across the site within the ground screen, and then hoisted into the ACT telescope receiver cabin via come-alongs attached to an external I-beam and then rolled into place using a low-riding transfer cart system within the cabin before final positioning and mounting within the receiver cabin. While relatively straightforward, this procedure was found to be time-intensive, and would not be possible given the scale of the ACTPol receiver, calling for perhaps the largest logistical deployment systems upgrade effort for the next-generation of the ACT project, which will be discussed in further detail in Section 2.8 (Swetz et al. 2011a).

Figure 2.24: Atacama Cosmology Telescope: MBAC-era Site Infrastructure Overview. (Cen- ter, and Clockwise from Top-left) (a) ACT Telescope Warm Optical Superstructure and Ground Screen. (b) Dual logistical supply and technical hardware storage containers. (c) Principal site diesel fuel storage tank (approx. 15,000 liters maximum capacity). (d) Parabolic antenna tower Providing Line-of-Sight Microwave Uplink/Downlink between ACT site on Cerro Toco and ACT base camp in San Pedro de Atacama. (e) Dual Diesel Generator Shed. (f) ACT site operations control room and cryogenic/robotics-system equipment room container. (g) ACT site receiver integration container, machine shop, and receiver cryostat shell integration/storage canopy.