Application of systems engineering concepts in the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope observatory automation project

In 2007, the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) undertook a project to enable the remote control of the observatory at the summit of Mauna Kea from a control room in the Headquarters building in Waimea. Instead of having two people operating the telescope and performing the observations from the summit, this project will allow one operator to remotely control the observatory and perform observations for the night. It is not possible to have one person operate from the summit, as our Two Person Rule requires at least two people for work at the summit for safety reasons. This paper will describe how systems engineering concepts have shaped the design of the project structure and execution.