Steps for Returning to Operations
As of the end of March 2024, the APS is undergoing Accelerator Readiness Review prior to turning on the new storage ring. This is the second review of the upgrade. The DOE Office of Project Assessment has already reviewed the upgrade in mid-March. In parallel to the APS preparing to commission the new storage ring, NE-CAT has been preparing for a return to operations.
For NE-CAT to return to general user operations, we must meet the following pre-beam requirements and undergo commissioning:
- An updated and approved CAT Management plan
- PSC Design Review Committee (PDRC) review – Examines the updated final beamline design and radiation safety aspects (new ray tracings will be required).
- Check-out – Testing of new equipment, systems without beam.
- Ops commissioning – First beam and shielding verification.
- Technical commissioning –Testing of the beamline with beam.
- Scientific commissioning and early experiments.
- Restart of the general user program.
The APS User's Office has already put out a call for General User Proposals for the 2024-2 run cycle using the new Universal Proposal System (https://ups.servicenowservices.com/ups). Feel free to submit a Macromolecular Crystallography General User Proposal in the new Universal Proposal System. These proposals will be valid for two years and this will allow you to be first in line for beamtime when we return. During that run cycle, if the new storage ring is stable, the monowavelength beamline, 24-ID-E, will be available for experiments. 24-ID-E will return with the automounter + 14-puck sample storage dewar, the MD2, and the EIGER detector. It will also be running RAPDv1 and remote operations will be available.