The start of construction of the Gemini North Telescope Base Facility in Hilo officially began under sunny skies with a ground blessing ceremony on 24 June. The new 14,000 sq.ft. sea level operations support facility for Gemini North, scheduled for completion in April 1998, will provide office space for approximately 40 astronomers, engineers and administrators; laboratories for instrumentation preparation and maintenance; and a center for remote operation of the telescope using a recently installed fiber-optic communications link.
The base facility is located in the University of Hawaii - Hilo University Park adjacent to the Joint Astronomy Centre, the UK base facility for the UKIRT and James Clerk Maxwell telescopes. University Park is also home to facilities for the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope, the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, and in future to facilities for the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Submillimeter Array and the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.
Gemini recently leased office space in downtown Hilo to accommodate new hires and relocating staff from Tucson until the base facility is completed. By September there will be approximately 15 people working in Hilo to support the arrival of the telescope and support equipment, telescope integration, and planning for operations.
Kathy Wood