[IGSMAIL-1530] STGO H-Maser Failure

[Tom]

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IGS Electronic Mail      Wed Jan 22 14:04:15 PST 1997      Message Number 1530
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Author: Tom Clark
Subject: STGO H-Maser Failure

This is to inform you that the Hydrogen Maser at the Peldehue (STGO)
site in Santiago, Chile est morte. The Maser was the reference
standard for both our VLBI programs and for the site's IGS GPS
receiver.

The failure occurred about 23:00 UTC on Jan.12,1997.

We knew the Maser was on its last legs for several months with the
imminent demise of the VacIon pump forecast for some time based
on its current drain. It had been our plan to have it limp along
until ~April 1st. Due to financial constraints we have planned
for some time that we would terminate our VLBI operations at
Peldehue at that time and it made little sense to dispatch a
repair crew to Chile. The Maser's failure has simply moved the
schedule ahead by 3 months. We have no plans to repair the Maser
until it returns to the USA, and we do not plan to return the Maser
to Chile. JPL was informed of the impending loss of the Maser
several months ago.

We have no operational control over the STGO GPS operations; we
merely supplied the Maser's 5 MHz reference signal. Therefore I do
not know if the STGO IGS site is operating from the GPS receiver's 
internal crystal or from the site's Cesium standard at this time.

Regards, Tom Clark


[Mailed From: "Dr Thomas A Clark (W3IWI)" <clark at tomcat.gsfc.nasa.gov>]