The LOFAR2.0 Newsletters
LOFAR2.0 is getting its final shape and the new station hardware is now tangible. In May we celebrated the inauguration of the Dwingeloo test station (DTS). As you will see from the contributions in this Newsletter, the first test results of the DTS are very encouraging!
For many people, summer is a time to relax, and I hope you managed to have a break as well. We had very dry and hot weather during the holiday season in the Netherlands. While most of us were desperately trying to keep the heads cool, some of us were bravely verifying the LOFAR2.0 design with the Dwingeloo Test Station.
It's a beautiful time. The covid measures have been released, enabling us to meet each other in person much more frequently at the office. It's great to have these spontaneous conversations with colleagues again, giving new energy and inspiration.
This LOFAR2.0 newsletter is bursting at the seams with highlights. It's fantastic how we continue to improve LOFAR together, and how enthusiastic the users are to start using those improvements!
The last two months we have celebrated many successes: The first prototype subrack is flashing in the lab, the LOFAR4SW project reached the Critical Design Review (CDR), and the first dynamic spectrum with the new LBA RCU was observed, using software delivered by the Station Control team. Well done!
I hope you had a good and relaxing summertime. The Timing Distributor team definitely did not relax and managed to pass the Critical Design Review (CDR) in August! Congratulations to all who contributed to this success!
Over the last couple of weeks, I had several discussions with astronomers on future instrumentation. It is great news that green light has been given for the construction of the SKA, which will provide new and unparalleled capabilities to the science community.
Welcome to the May 2021 edition of the LOFAR2.0 Newsletter in which we share recent highlights of the LOFAR2.0 development. My highlight for this edition is that the ILT Board approved the outcome of the LOFAR2.0 down scope, bringing our ambitions and our resources back in balance.
Voila, here is the first LOFAR2.0 newsletter of 2021! It promises to be an exciting year for LOFAR2.0: In the Dwingeloo Test Stations (DTS) the LOFAR2.0 hardware, firmware and software will be linked together, and tested in the field for the first time.
The year 2020 is already nearing its end. It has been a very different year from what we were used to. Fortunately, we have found new ways to keep in touch and to continue our activities.
Many of us enjoyed a well-deserved summer leave. I hope you had a good and relaxing time. In the meantime, work on LOFAR2.0 design steadily progressed.
I concluded the previous newsletter by saying that I miss you. Well, I still do! At the same time, I would like to make you a huge compliment on how you managed to adapt to working from home!
We live in strange times that we never experienced before. Things that were obvious a couple of months ago are now uncertain.
After a relaxing end of year period, the LOFAR2.0 development is in full swing again. It is fantastic to see the commitment and progress over the breadth of the system.
As very briefly announced in the previous Newsletter, an important milestone has been passed: Congratulations to the Station and Timing Distributor team for passing the Preliminary Design Review (PDR)!
LOFAR2.0 is now in full swing: An enormous amount of work has been delivered over the last couple of months. A lot of work went into the preparation of the Station and Timing Distributor (TD) PDR and the LOFAR4SW mid-term review this week.
Welcome to this new edition of the LOFAR2.0 Newsletter, which aims to inform everybody involved in the development of LOFAR2.0 about what is going on in the Program.
Welcome to this edition of the LOFAR2.0 Newsletter. A special welcome to the people from INAF who joined the team to work on the Receiver Unit (RCU).
In the year 2018, we have seen the birth of the LOFAR 2.0 program. Today, the number of activities in the program is still growing and we expect to further ramp-up the efforts significantly in 2019.