The PLATO Dome A site-testing observatory: power generation and control systems.
The atmospheric conditions above Dome A, a currently unmanned location at the highest point on the Antarctic plateau, are uniquely suited to astronomy. For certain types of astronomy Dome A is likely to be the best location on the planet, and this has motivated the development of the Plateau Observatory (PLATO). PLATO was deployed to Dome A in early 2008. It houses a suite of purpose-built site-testing instruments designed to quantify the benefits of Dome A site for astronomy, and science instruments designed to take advantage of the observing conditions. The PLATO power generation and control system is designed to provide continuous power and heat, and a high-reliability command and communications platform for these instruments. PLATO has run and collected data throughout the winter 2008 season completely unattended. Here we present a detailed description of the power generation, power control, thermal management, instrument interface, and communications systems for PLATO, and an overview of the system performance for 2008.
Lawrence
J S
JS
School of Physics, University of New South Wales, New South Wales 2052, Australia. jsl@ics.mq.edu.au
Ashley
M C B
MC
Hengst
S
S
Luong-Van
D M
DM
Storey
J W V
JW
Yang
H
H
Zhou
X
X
Zhu
Z
Z