VLA/VLBA/VLBI Proposals and Scheduling

VLA/VLBA Scheduling Officers

VLA/VLBA Proposals and Scheduling

The table below shows the next deadline for regular and large proposals for the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). At the end of the VLA D configuration in January 2010, the VLA correlator will be turned off, and the VLA will not be available for an interval of up to 2 months while hardware is moved from the VLA correlator to the new EVLA correlator. When observing resumes with the EVLA, it will be in the D configuration. For the EVLA, the order of the configurations will then be: D, DnC, C, CnB, B, BnA, A.

Array Deadline Observing Period Configuration
EVLA 2009 Oct 1 2010 Mar 01 - 2010 May 24 D
    2010 May 24 - 2010 May 28 Move
    2010 May 28 - 2010 Jun 14 DnC
VLBA 2009 Oct 1 2010 mid Jan - 2010 mid May  

VLBI HSA Proposals and Scheduling

The NRAO handles regular proposals for the VLBI High Sensitivity Array (HSA) at the same deadlines as for the VLBA. The HSA includes the VLBA, GBT, and Arecibo in the U.S., plus Effelsberg in Germany.

There will be an interval of up to 2 months, beginning in January 2010, during which the VLA will be unavailable to the HSA due to the replacement of the VLA correlator with the new EVLA correlator. When observing resumes with the EVLA correlator, it will lack VLBI capabilities. Although it is expected that EVLA commissioning will eventually include VLBI capabilities, no definite timescale for implementing this has yet been set.

Global cm VLBI Proposals and Scheduling

The NRAO and the European VLBI Network (EVN) jointly handle proposals for observing time on the Global VLBI Network at centimeter wavelengths. The deadline is October 1, 2009 for the session in March 2010.

Global 3mm VLBI Proposals and Scheduling

The NRAO and a set of European observatories jointly handle proposals for VLBI observing time at a wavelength of 3mm on the Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA).  The deadline is October 1, 2009 for the session in May 2010.