# Presentation: 513351

## NSF/AST Program Update

- AAAC Meeting
- October 14-15, 2008
- Craig Foltz, Acting Director, AST

## Outline	

- Budgets
- Status of Interagency Projects
- ALMA Update

## Budgets	

- Continuing Resolution at FY 2008 levels through March, 2009.
- Budget Office (NSF) has allocated 90% of FY 2008 levels for funding.
- Impacts our funding strategy and observatories’ cash flow.
- Observatories and Managing Organizations have been informed.  Their input is currently being analyzed.
- Nothing to share with respect to FY 2010 at this time.

## Impact of CR on AST Observatories

- AST Senior Review (2006) made specific recommendations with respect to facilities’ futures:
- NAIC reductions
- Endorsement of ATST
- Endorsement of ALMA
- Recommendation of infrastructure investment at NOAO.
- ALMA early operations costs began in FY 2006 and are growing, to be partially offset by reductions in NRAO base, but total is increasing.
*Observatories’ M&O has been flat-funded since FY2006.  (with full-year CR, that’s four years of flat funding)*

## Gemini increase was for Aspen Instrumentation Program and 2.5% increase in M&O. NRAO increase in 2008 is early ALMA ops.

## Other Factors

- ATST D&D costs have increased as the project approaches a possible construction start:
- Environmental/cultural compliance cost now >$2.5M
- Anticipate additional $1.5M for National Park’s NEPA compliance
- Cost of Final Design Review ~$100k
- Ramping up of staff to prepare for construction.
*Funding is essentially capped at FY2006 level and will be ~$1.3M short in FY 2009.*
- In response to SR, NOAO has planned for infrastructure improvements at CTIO and KPNO.
- In response to SR, AST COV, etc., AST has not reduced funding of individual investigator awards program.
- Inflation is non-zero.  Absent other issues, effectively a ~12% cut.
- Other stresses: Chilean inflation, fuel and utility costs, etc.

## The Impacts

- NAIC reductions resulted in a 25% reduction in staff (24 FTE: 19 layoffs, 5 retrenchments).
- Planning for *even the possibility of a year-long CR* will result in reductions in force, furloughs, facility shut-downs, etc.
- Additional cuts applied mid-year cannot be accommodated by additional lay-offs due to severance packages, nor can they be substantially offset by facility closure.
*As a result, observatories have begun planning for layoffs, early retirements, retrenchments to be carried out early in FY 2009.*

## Interagency Projects

- Virtual Astronomical Observatory
- Solicitation issued on time
- Under joint review with NASA
- Mutually committed to fund the VAO.
- Dark Energy Survey
- Very well coordinated with DOE HEP
- AST provided funding for initial phase of data-processing pipeline.
- Blanco telescope improvements initiated but may lag due to availability of funds.
- Sloan III
- Joint DOE/NSF/Sloan project
- AST made new award in FY 2008
- DOE HEP funded year one.
- Jointly coordinated with DOE
- LSST
- Joint PDR planned for Spring 2009

## ALMA Project Status

- Overall construction cost performance is good (CPI~1.0) but slightly behind schedule (SPI~0.95)
- Contingency is healthy
- Recent accomplishments include:
- High-site technical building accepted
- Mid-level labs and offices accepted
- 11 antennas in Chile (4 Japan, 7 North America/Vertex)
- Vertex antenna deliveries to Chile at pace of 1 every 2 months
- Antenna transporters accepted
- First front- and back-end electronics system accepted
- Astronomical spectra taken with prototype antennas

## ALMA Project Accomplishments

- In pictures...