SpaceQ Space news and analysis.
The Canadian Astronomical Society (CASCA) has released its quarterly newsletter Cassiopeia and includes updates on the CASTOR telescope program, Gemini News and more.
The Vernal Equinox update from CASCA is shorter than usual with only five updates and doesn’t include any news on the troubled the Thirty Meter Telescope.
Update on CASTOR
“While delayed due to personnel and supply issues, the detector testing to be done at the University of Calgary vacuum facility is planned in detail. In discussions with JPL and Teledyne-e2v, the performance specifications and expectations for the flight arrays are being defined. Significant resources are being devoted by HAA to support this effort.”
“CASTOR continues to progress towards approval and flight contracts. An extended (three-year) industrial technical (STDP) contract will wrap up this month, with the final review meeting scheduled on March 21. The work packages are being defined in detail for Phase A, with a subset prioritized in the event flight approval is delayed.”
Read the full update here.
Canadian Gemini News
Upcoming Deadlines
“There are three important Call for Proposal (CfP) application deadlines coming up – all back-to-back-to-back – providing Canadians competitive access to Gemini. So just to help keep these straight:”
- First is the monthly CfP for Fast Turnaround (FT) time, at noon Hawai’i Standard Time (HST) on 31 March. For the FT Call see here. These are short proposals that can put a small, but important dataset in your hands quickly;
- Next, on 1 April is the deadline for full proposals to the Large and Long Program (LLP) 2024 Call. These are big proposals, asking for either significantly more time than a Regular proposal, or spread over many semesters – or both;
- And then, finally, is the 2024B semester CfP, at 4 PM (PDT) / 7 PM (EDT) on 2 April. This is for Regular semesterly proposals. Look here for the Canadian-specific information about that Call.
Read the full update here.
Other updates include ALMA Matters, Indigenous Engagement Committee Report and and an ngVLA update.
