Operation Center Response Form Joint CSTG/IERS Call for Participation International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry Operation Center name: CORE Operation Center Parent/Funding organization: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Name and title of primary technical contact: Cynthia Thomas, Operations Manager, NVI, Inc./GSFC Name and title of administrative contact: William T. Wildes, GSFC VLBI Network Manager Mailing address: GSFC Code 920.1, Greenbelt, MD 20771 Phone: +1-301-286-3990 Fax: +1-301-286-0213 E-mail address: cct@gemini.gsfc.nasa.gov Web address: http://lup us.gsfc.nasa.gov Internet connection type or bit rate: at least T3 Data storage capacity: 1 Gb for IVS operations List the networks/programs you support as an operation center: CORE (Continuous Observations of the Rotation of the Earth) Number of full-time equivalent personnel assigned to operation center functions: 5 Describe any planned facility upgrades. For each of the supported programs listed above, indicate which of the following IVS Operation Center functions you provide and explain briefly how you provide them: [see explanations below] Plan observing program Establish operating plans and procedures Support improved station performance Obtain correlator time Generate observing schedules Distribute observing schedules Attach a list of personnel (names and titles) whom you designate as IVS Associate Members through their affiliation with your operation center. Cynthia Thomas, Operations Manager, NVI, Inc./GSFC, cct@gemini.gsfc.nasa.gov William T. Wildes, GSFC VLBI Network Manager, wtw@wildbill.gsfc.nasa.gov Nancy Vandenberg, VLBI Manager, NVI, Inc./GSFC, nrv@gemini.gsfc.nasa.gov William E. Himwich, Scientist, NVI, Inc./GSFC, weh@vega.gsfc.nasa.gov David B. Shaffer, Astronomer, Radiometrics/NVI, Inc., dbs@gemini.gsfc.nasa.gov Frank Gomez, Programmer, Raytheon/STX, fgg@gemini.gsfc.nasa.gov Bruce R. Schupler, VLBI Manager, ATSC, schuplb@thorin.atsc.allied.com Chuck Kodak, MV3 Manager, ATSC, mv3@cddis.gsfc.nasa.gov Irv Deigel, Engineer, ATSC, diegeli@clmmp003.atsc.allied.com Tom Buretta, Sr. Technician, Haystack, tburetta@haystack.mit.edu Dan Smythe, Sr. Engineer, dsmythe@haystack.mit.edu Please provide any other information that you feel will be helpful in demonstrating your operation center's capabilities to participate in the IVS. If you proposed to the IERS in 1995/6 as a network operations center and wish to have that proposal carry over to the IVS, please make such a statement in this proposal. Your signature on this form indicates your agreement to participate in the IVS as an Operation Center and to cooperate with and follow guidelines from the IVS Coordinating Center. If this is a new proposal (i.e. not carried over from IERS) your signature commits your organization to participate in the IVS. Name of person signing: John M. Bosworth Title: Associate Chief, Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics Signature: _________________________________________ Date: _____________ Proposal Explanations Plan observing program The CORE program was proposed and approved as a NASA investigation. The evolution of the CORE observing program has been described in a published white paper and we are following the proposed scheme. Our annual observing program fulfills the goals of the CORE program. Establish operating plans and procedures We have set up standard observing procedures for all geodetic sessions and expect that stations will follow these plans. Support improved station performance We analyze all of the CORE data at Goddard and provide feedback to the stations on their performance via analysis reports. We support improved performance for all geodetic stations by providing maintenance functions based at Goddard, AlliedSignal, and Haystack Observatory. Goddard provides support for Field System software and computer hardware, Haystack supports the electronics racks and recorders, and AlliedSignal supports cryogenic receivers and hydrogen masers. Although advice and remote troubleshooting are provided as a service to all stations, those stations that are not directly funded by NEOS must reimburse us for the direct costs of equipment and hardware repairs. Obtain correlator time We support correlation of the CORE sessions at the Haystack and Washington correlators. We will continue to provide support as the program evolves. When Mark IV capability is available at the correlators we will be able to continue the evolution of the program towards more continuous observing. Generate observing schedules We will generate observing schedules for each CORE session. We maintain a catalog of geodetic-quality sources and a catalog of station performance parameters. We use these catalogs to produce the CORE session schedules. We also provide a text file with notes about the observing session. The notes file summarizes the observing schedule, describes any special procedures, and documents the purpose of the session. Distribute observing schedules We distribute observing schedules by placing them on CDDISA for stations to download. We have set up an automated method for informing the stations when schedules are ready so that they can download them for checking and testing if necessary well in advance of the session.