Dear VLBA users,
As most of you probably know, the VLBA antenna on the island of Saint Croix was hit by a pair of hurricanes in September, 2017. After 6 months, primarily in restoring electrical power and internet services to the island, the antenna was returned to service. The VLBA received disaster relief funding to restore the VLBA antenna and site to pre-hurricane conditions. Some of this work has begun and has not impacted observing. The major upcoming effort will be corrosion mitigation and painting of the 25m antenna. This will require significant non-observing down-time. Exact dates are not yet known, but this work could begin by mid March, 2019 and will likely last 4.5 months.
This information is posted at news page. Please revisit this page periodically as the information on the web will be updated as planning proceeds.
Regards,
Walter Brisken (NRAO)