TITLE: Prototype Support Tools for VLT Operations

AUTHORS: Alberto Maurizio Chavan (ESO), Gino Giannone (Serco), David
Silva (ESO), Tony Krueger (STScI), Glenn Miller (STScI)

ABSTRACT:

ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) is a complex and expensive system.
One of its most important design goals is efficiency of operations, to
maximize the scientific productivity of the observatory. ``Service
mode'' observations will take up a significant fraction of the VLT's
time, with the goal of matching the best observing conditions to the
most demanding scientific programmes.

Such an operational scheme requires extensive computer support in the
area of observation preparation and execution. In this paper we
present some of the software tools developed at ESO to support VLT
observers, both staff and external. These tools are prototype
implementations of the final VLT systems, and are used to support
daily operations at ESO's New Technology Telescope (NTT) in La Silla,
Chile.

At the time the SPIE conference starts, our Phase II Proposal
Preparation system (P2PP) and the Observing Tool (OT) will have been
in use for over a year, while the Scheduling tool (SCHED), based on
the Hubble Space Telescope scheduler and integrated with the OT, will
be undergoing an operational test.  We plan to present our and our
users' experience in the area of observation preparation, and early
results of the application of software scheduling tools to support
``service mode'' operations.