The ALS will be shut down for the holidays and maintenance beginning December 24, and user operations are scheduled to resume on March 30. This shutdown will allow installation of the last of the fast feedback chambers that have been installed over the past several shutdowns, replacement of the rf modulators in the linac, alignment of the storage ring, and rerouting of the main cooling water lines for the storage ring in anticipation of the installation of a new air conditioning system in the storage ring, which will be installed during the next two extended shutdowns. The detailed operating schedule for the 2021-1 cycle will be posted in November. The summer shutdown is expected to begin in early July and last approximately three months.
Over the next few years, shutdowns will likely be longer than in recent years to allow the installation of the new accumulator ring, which is required to inject beam into the storage ring of the upgraded ALS, and the replacement of aging infrastructure in our 30-year-old facility in preparation for the new storage ring’s installation. Please look for more information in early 2021, following the ALS Upgrade (ALS-U) Project’s CD-2 review.