Speaker
Description
The ASTRI Mini-Array (MA) is an international project led by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF) to construct and operate an observatory dedicated to gamma-ray astronomy in the TeV spectral band. The ASTRI MA is currently under construction and will consist of an array of nine innovative Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes located at the Teide Astronomical Observatory, operated by the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain).
In this work we present the Product Assurance (PA) programme we have implemented in the project framework, which defines the strategy and the organization for the management of the quality control. It defines the applicable quality requirements for design, procurement, AIT, and verification, based on the international quality standards and execution classes. Regarding the manufacturing, first of all it provides requirements for the quality check of the raw materials, the machining procedures and the personnel qualification; then, it defines the verifications and inspections to be performed during the manufacturing process, and how to report them; finally, it define the requirements for the identification and traceability of materials, equipments and items, and defines the management of non-conformances and requests for deviations/waivers, since these are very critical in the case of the external industrial partners.
We also describe the adopted assembly, integration and verification (AIV) approach, which foresees that the telescopes are first of all integrated and verified in factory by the supplier; only if this phase is successfully passed, they are preliminary accepted and moved to the Teide Observatory for the final on-site validation by INAF. Currently the first two telescopes are already installed at the Teide observatory and the first one is fully operational, while the second one is under validation; other three telescopes are ready to be integrated on site, while the remaing ones are in the integration phase in factory.
Finally, we report how the experience gained with ASTRI and the lessons learned will be used in view of the Small Size Telescopes (SSTs) to be provided for the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory.