Timeline & Structure
The current proposed timeline for VLASS activities (as of 12 September 2014) is:
| Target Date | Activity |
|---|---|
| 9 Sep 2013 | Call for White Papers |
| 20 Sep 2013 | Call for SOC membership |
| 21 Oct 2013 | SOC membership call closed (extended) |
| 1 Nov 2013 | SOC constituted |
| 1 Dec 2013 | White Papers Due |
| 5 Jan 2014 | VLASS Workshop at AAS |
| 1 Feb 2014 | SSG constituted |
| 13 Jun 2014 | Preliminary survey definition posted by SSG |
| 12 Sep 2014 | First draft of VLASS Proposal posted by SSG |
| 15 Oct 2014 | Second draft of VLASS Proposal to be posted, along with Technical Implementation Plan |
| 15 Nov 2014 | NRAO internal scientific and technical proposal review complete |
| 1 Jan 2015 | Final draft of VLASS Proposal and TIP posted, and submitted along with the response to NRAO review to the Community Review panel |
| 15 Feb 2015 | General community comment on posted proposal closed (for input to Community Review panel) |
| 4-6 Mar 2015 | Meeting of Community Review panel held in Socorro (passed ALL-SKY) |
| May 2016 | VLASS Pilot observing starts in B-configuration (2016A) |
| Sep 2017 | VLASS Survey begins (2017B) after passing design reviews |
The SSG, with the support of the NRAO Survey Design Group (SDG), formulated the survey design and plan and the drafts of the proposals. The SDG and the Technical Working Group of the SSG formulated the detailed Technical Implementation Plan (TIP). A NRAO technical and science review in late 2014 will provide input to the Community Review panel, which met in March 2015 to provide the "go/no-go" decision on the VLASS. Following the posting of the final draft on Jan 1 2015, there was a 1.5 month period during which the community commented on the final VLASS proposal, and all comments from this period were provided as input to the Community Review panel. The Community Review panel recommended proceeding with the ALL-SKY survey component, and advised that the DEEP survey component be separately submitted as a large P.I. proposal. We are in the process of setting up and staffing the NRAO VLASS project office, with the goal of starting a pilot survey in May 2016, and the full survey in late 2017. A series of preliminary and critical design and readiness reviews will occur in 2016 and 2017 leading up to the survey start.
