| Date: | 1998-10-27 07:00:00 | |
| Sender: | John Luck <[Mailed Luck, John <JohnLuck@auslig.gov.au>]> | |
| Subject: | [SLR-Mail] No. 169: Orroral Closes on 31 October | |
| Author: | John Luck | |
| Content: | ******************************************************************************** SLR Electronic Mail 1998-10-27 07:00:00 UTC Message No. 169 ******************************************************************************** Author: John Luck Subject: Orroral Closes on 31 October It is my rather sad duty to advise you that 7843 Orroral will cease SLR operations on 31 October 1998. The last remaining staff will transfer to a Staff Redeployment Unit at the end of November, at which stage the Observatory will be mothballed pending decisions on disposal of the site, buildings, telescope, laser and equipment. The responsibility for the Australian National Time Scale Service was transferred to CSIRO National Measurement Laboratory on 1 July 1998. Also, the DORIS beacon was relocated to Mount Stromlo on 22 October 1998. I would like to take this opportunity publicly to thank all the people over the years who have made Orroral one of the very best stations in the world, and also a unique precise time laboratory. In particular of the current staff, Mark Elphick has made herculean efforts in observing, all aspects of data management, and Web page construction; John Woodger has managed the time system impeccably for nearly 25 years and is a monument of competence and common sense; and Anthony Willing, Ian Cooper and Gordon Baker have kept the system and Observatory alive and working under very difficult circumstances. I won´t catalogue the huge contributions made by former staff members, except to acknowledge and thank Peter Morgan, the founder of the Observatory back in 1973, and Ben Greene who managed the transformation from LLR to SLR in the early 1980´s. The various Australian Government departments who have paid our salaries and bought our equipment over the years are also extremely praiseworthy. We have always received active support and encouragement from the entire global laser ranging community, and have often adopted your ideas and methods to our benefit. In particular, NASA has always honoured the Agreement under which the station has operated, and we have had especially close ties also with Yarragadee, RGO, Wettzell, Grasse, CRL, Changchun and ATSC. In the process we have formed very deep and highly valued friendships. Thank you all. I will send a separate message in due course advising the status of the Mount Stromlo station. With best regards, John Orroral Phone: +61 (2) 6235-7111 Fax: +61 (2) 6235-7103 Email: orroral@auslig.gov.au John Luck AUSLIG PO Box 2 Phone: +61 (2) 6201-4349 Belconnen ACT 2616 Fax: +61 (2) 6201-4366 Australia Email: johnluck@auslig.gov.au [Mailed From: ”Luck, John” ******************************************************************************** |