Current Status
The South Pole Telescope achieved first light on February 16, 2007, and began science observations in March 2007. Commissioning observations and an initial small survey were completed in austral winter 2007 with winter-overs Stephen Padin and Zak Staniszewski at its helm. Larger survey fields were completed in 2008 with winter-overs Keith Vanderlinde and Dana Hrubes, and in 2009 with winter-overs Erik Shirokoff and Ross Williamson. The camera was upgraded again in December 2009 for the 2010 observing season, and the full 2500 square-degree SPT-SZ survey was completed in the 2010 and 2011 observing seasons with winter-overs Dana Hrubes and Daniel Luong-Van (both years!).
First light was achieved with the SPTpol camera on January 27, 2012. The camera is currently in a commissioning phase and will begin survey observations in earnest around the time of polar sunset, 2012. The first crew of SPTpol winterovers are Cynthia Chiang and Nicholas Huang.
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