At last, PLACID was unpacked and mechanically installed on the diffraction-limited Nasymth platform of the DAG telescope on January 29, 2025. The telescope dome crane successfully lifted the approx. 150 kg of the PLACID main optical breadboard (without the optics and electronics) all the way from the storage bay to the thermally-enclosed Nasmyth platform (with the enclosure roof panel removed to this purpose), through the dome floor crane opening. Pretty stressful minutes, but the "landing" on the Nasmyth optical table was ultimately very soft.
Now our Yverdon colleagues working on the adaptive optics (TROIA AO system) can start the precise alignment of their instrument with the PLACID weight at the right location on the table. Next step for PLACID: cabling campaign later this winter, and optical alignment this spring. We cannot wait to be back, look at the facility, the site and the landscape!
In November, the PLACID instrument (main crate and palettes) was successfully delivered to the summit, right before the heavy snowfall period when the road becomes unpractical for trucks. The last section of the road to the observatory and around the DAG itself was recently paved.
Furthermore, the KORAY image derotator from our HEIG-VD partners was internally aligned on-site and installed into the telescope flange leading to the diffraction-limited Nasmyth platform, the future home for PLACID. The delicate process of adjusting and inserting the derotator into the telescope flange can be seen on the images. This process has been successfully completed and the thermal enclosure for the diffraction-limited Nasmyth platform is currently being installed. Once this is completed, KORAY will be aligned to the telescope optical axis on-sky and we shall come to install PLACID, alongside our HEIG-VD colleage who will setup the TROIA XAO system. Exciting times ahead!
After quite a trip from Switzerland to Istanbul by air, then by truck to Eastern Anatolia, PLACID was delivered to the Erzurum ATASAM facilities at Atatürk University on March 9, 2024. The RACE-GO team conducted an on-site inspection visit and took the opportunity to visit the DAG observatory, ridding a snow cat, as the road to the summit at 3170 m is snow-covered in this season. All is looking good, and the long wait to be allowed to bring PLACID to the telescope summit facilities begins...