GTD has recently initiated a contract with the European Southern Observatory (ESO). The European Southern Observatory is an astronomical organization with headquarters in Garching (Germany). ESO builds and operates a suite of the world's most advanced ground-based in Chile, including ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array), located in the Atacama Desert, in operation since 2011 and officially inaugurated in 2013.ALMA is the largest and most expensive terrestrial radio telescope ever built (up to now), consisting of a set of 60 antennas (reflectors) between 7 and 12 meters in diameter monitoring lengths of millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths. ALMA is expected to allow a glimpse of the star formation in the early universe and get extremely detailed images of stars and planets birth process.The ACS, ALMA Common Software, provides a common software infrastructure by offering customers a set of patterns, components, services and tools. ACS is based on distributed systems object technology using CORBA component model. ACS supports development languages such as C++, Python and Java. Using this architecture allows ACS to meet the requirements of multiple projects, developing both high-level interfaces and control systems operating in real time.GTD is responsible since last May of the maintenance of the ACS, joining ESO engineers team. Tasks are performed at GTD facilities in Barcelona, remotely accessing the development and validation platform made available by ESO. The scope of the contract covers both corrective maintenance and adaptive (problem reports) / perfective maintenance (change requests).
