The WEAVE observatory control system

Abstract

WEAVE is the next-generation spectroscopic facility for the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) <SUP>1,2</SUP>. WEAVE offers multi-object (1000 fibres) and integral-field spectroscopy at two resolutions (R 5000, 20000) over a 2-deg field of view at prime focus and will mainly provide follow up of ground-based (LOFAR) and space-based (GAIA) surveys. The <strong>Observatory Control System </strong>(OCS) is responsible for providing the software control and feedback framework through which WEAVE will be operated. This paper summarizes the design of the different OCS subsystems and the interfaces between them and other WEAVE components. In the remainder of this paper, Section 2 outlines the other WEAVE systems with which the OCS interacts, Section 3 describes the system architecture, Section 4 comments on system-architecture decisions, Section 5 describes the main components of the OCS, Section 6 outlines the life-cycle of an OCS Observing Block and, finally, Section 7 gives an overview of the OCS testing plan.