_                    
                                                         |_|                   
      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  ***                        <)                     
 

ATTITUDE CONTROL SYSTEM TESTING

AOCS tests are continuing at the Sagamihara campus of ISAS. All interfaces have been okayed, and detailed software testing is in progress. All major problems encountered to date have been with the test equipment rather than the flight module! Testing continues until next February.

VSOP CORRELATOR PROGRESS

Software testing of the VSOP correlator is progressing. An important piece of correlator "hardware" was put into place this week -- the building that will house the correlator at Mitaka! The building, which was the National Astronomical Observatory's cafeteria, has been moved by 100 metres and placed on new foundations closer to the NAO VSOP Project Group's building. Refurbishment of the building will be finished by the end of January, unfortunately not in time for the traditional end-of-year party.

THE FIRST AO

As mentioned in the last VSOP news, the announcement of release of the first AO next May will be e-mailed directly to all subscribers to the VSOP news. Non-subscribers to the VSOP news can register their e-mail address for the notification of the AO release announcement by e-mailing vsopAO@orihime.isaslan1.isas.ac.jp

VLBI in JAPAN

Japanese VLBIers will be meeting next week in Kagoshima. The three day meeting will cover recent results, VSOP developments and look at future development of the Japanese VLBI network, and even further into the future to the second Japanese space VLBI satellite. Kagoshima University is now home to a 6m antenna capable of observing between 20 and 100 GHz. This dish has seen more of Japan than most Japanese -- having started life in Mitaka before moving to Nobeyama, then on to Mizusawa, before finally moving to Kagoshima last year! The Japanese VLBI network of telescopes includes (starting north and working south) the
Mizusawa 10m of NAO,
Usuda 64m of ISAS,
Kashima 34m of Communications Research Laboratory (CRL),
Nobeyama 45m of NRO/NAO,
Kumamoto 11m of Kyushu Tokai University, and
Kagoshima 6m of Kagoshima University/NAO.
All of these will be represented in Kagoshima. There is also a 11m dish at the Japanese Syowa base in Antarctica. Although used mainly for satellite tracking, it has been used successfully for geodetic VLBI on Antarctica-Japan baselines.

 
 
       Editors: Phil Edwards and Hirax Hirabayashi