_                    
                                                         |_|                   
      V   V   SSSS   OOO   PPPP                 \__      |_|      __/          
      V   V  S      O   O  P   P                   --____/ \____--             
      V   V   SSS   O   O  PPPP                    _ _ _ --- _ _ _             
       V V       S  O   O  P                      |_|_|_|  @|_|_|_|            
        V    SSSS    OOO   P                             o-o                   
                                                          /                    
      ***  N    E    W    S  ***                        <)                     
 

VSOP PROPOSALS

Two printed copies -- unfolded and unstapled -- of the complete proposal are due at ISAS by Friday the 17th of November. The electronic version of the cover sheets must be e-mailed to submit@vsop.isas.ac.jp by this time also.

The `Frequently Asked Questions' file has grown considerably in the last week. If you are wondering when the first AO period ends, or whether References can be put on the Figures page of the justification, or if color figures can be submitted, or why your favourite spelling checker duzn't seem to be werking, or the settling time of the satellite after small pointing offsets, or whether the Mitaka correlator has pulsar gating, etc., then this is the file to turn to! It can be referred to from the VSOP WWW home page, or retrieved from the VSOP anonymous ftp site. Questions not answered in the Announcement of Opportunity or the Proposer's Guide or the FAQ file should be directed to your regional expert -- see the Announcement of Opportunity for more details.

SATELLITE INTEGRATION

Final integration testing of the MUSES-B satellite has begun. The first week has been spent mostly reassembling the satellite and bringing back together the various components from the various sub-contractors. Electrical tests, which include the on-board radio-astronomy system, will get underway next week, and run through to late January. The final integration testing ends next July.

USUDA TRACKING STATION

The Usuda 10m tracking station antenna went through acceptance testing from the 6th to 9th of November. For the first two days the VSOP satellite simulator was placed 4.9 km away from 10m antenna, and data successfully recorded at the antenna site. These tests finished just before the first snow-fall of the seasonat Usuda! On the last two days operational tests were made using schedule files made in Sagamihara to test the various file interfaces.

NEW STAFF

Prof. Shinzou Enome has joined the VSOP team at the National Astronomical Observatory in Mitaka, having transferred from the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. Enome-san has had much experience working on microwave interferometers with the Nobeyama solar radioheliograph and previously with the Nagoya microwave solar interferometer. The NRO solar radioheliograph is coupled with an NEC-built XF correlator, and Enome-san will draw on this knowledge to help with management of the VSOP FX correlator at Mitaka.

 
 
       Editors: Phil Edwards and Hirax Hirabayashi