Strategic Plan of the IVS for the Period 2016-2025
Résumé
Over the next decade, the IVS is on the cusp of dramatic changes transitioning from using large, slow moving antennas observing at S/X (``legacy'' systems) to using small, fast antennas with broad-band receivers, the so-called VGOS systems. Never has there been a time when so many antennas specifically designed for geodetic VLBI are scheduled to come on line in such a short period. VGOS observing will change all aspects of VLBI, from scheduling, to correlation, to observing strategy, to analysis. Compared to current observing, a typical VGOS session will have 1-2 orders of magnitude more data. In this strategic plan we outline some of the operational concepts of VGOS observing, our goals for data accuracy and latency, and some of the challenges and issues we will face during this transition.