[alma-config] ALMA Construction; configuration plans

[Al Wootten]

Dear folks:

Summary: Construction money may be on the horizon; we need to pursue
configuration CDR.  Telecon Weds 1 Aug 1600UT?

At our last meeting (review at:
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~awootten/mmaimcal/almaconfig18may01.html  )
we decided to have another meeting during late July.  The time has come.
Weds 1 Aug 1600UT?  Please submit agenda items.  

The ASAC will be visiting the site
on 10 September.  We can show them the site selected for the array center.
The plan has us arm waving locations for the 14km array, and for some of the
smaller arrays.  

Since the last meeting, a construction proposal has been submitted to MEXT
in Japan and the U. S. Administration budget has been altered in key
Senate and House Committees.  

As you know, the bills must be voted on by the House and by the Senate and
then sent to committee to reconcile differences, such as you will note for
ALMA funding.  Then they go back to House and Senate for passage of the 
reconciled version which goes to the President for signature and become law.
After a long long long period of time they actually get implemented--money
starts to flow.  Although nominally 1 Oct 2001, the bill may not even be
signed by that date and in any event NRAO may not see actual construction
money for some time after that.  I put the actual words at the end for those
who may have some interest.

For the configuration studies, we must be aware that most likely the conference
committee will realize that however much money they agree on will be put
toward the final goal of realizing ALMA most effectively if it is called
construction money.  We therefore need to be prepared for construction
on a nearer term than we have supposed.  

Here is the language of the Senate Committee, which recommends construction
begin at a $12.5M level on 1 Oct 2001 (FY2002):

'The Committee has provided $16,900,000 for the Large Hadron Collider, 
$24,400,000 for the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation, 
$55,000,000 for Terascale Computing
Systems, and $12,500,000 for initial construction of the Atacama 
Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope. 

The Committee supports initiation of construction of the ALMA radio 
telescope and has provided the necessary resources to start construction. 
ALMA has conducted thorough design
and development, established management systems for proper technical 
and organizational support, and entered into international cooperative 
agreements. ALMA is also listed as one of
the highest priority projects in ground based astronomy. '

Here is the language of the House Committee, which recommends continued
development at the President's requested $9M level:

'The Committee recommends a total of $135,300,000 for the major research 
construction and equipment account for fiscal year 2002. This 
appropriation reflects the budget request levels of
$16,900,000 for the Large Hadron Collider, and $24,400,000 for the 
Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation. 

In addition, the Committee has provided $35,000,000 for Terrascale 
Computing Systems, $35,000,000 for continued development of the 
High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform
for Environmental Research (HIAPER), $15,000,000 for initiation of the 
IceCube Neutrino Detector project, and $9,000,000 to maintain ongoing 
development activities for the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. '

Clear skies,
Al