Deploying the testbed for the VLT adaptive optics facility: ASSIST

The ESO Very Large Telescope Adaptive Optics Facility (VLT-AOF) will transform the VLT Unit Telescope 4 to an Adaptive Telescope. In absence of an intermediate focus before the Adaptive Secondary in this Ritchey–Chretien type telescope and in order to reduce the testing and calibration of the system on-sky, ASSIST, The Adaptive Secondary Setup and Instrument STimulator, was developed. It provides an off-sky testing facility for the ESO AOF and will provide a full testing environment for three elements of the VLT Adaptive Optics Facility: the Deformable Secondary Mirror (DSM) and the AO modules for MUSE and HAWK-I (GALACSI and GRAAL). ASSIST was delivered to ESO Garching, where it was assembled and tested. Currently ASSIST is being integrated with the Deformable Secondary Mirror, the first step in the full system testing of the two AO systems for the VLT AOF on ASSIST. This paper briefly reviews the design and properties of ASSIST and reports on the first results of ASSIST in stand-alone mode.