January 13, 2017 – During LSST operations, data will flow from the summit of Cerro Pachón, beginning with the data acquisition interface between camera and telescope subsystems, through to the data products accessed by end users. To facilitate the first step of this journey, installation of the dedicated fiber-optic cable from the summit to base facility is well underway. The cable goes from Cerro Pachon to the AURA gatehouse on the telescope site, across and down highway 41 to La Serena, then in town to the LSST Base Facility on the AURA Recinto. The AURA Recinto is a 33 acre compound hosting offices, laboratories, administration and facilities support staff. The fiber-optic work is progressing on schedule, with an anticipated complete date of January 2017.
