Remote operation of the TFTR BES experiment from an off-site location

The capability of controlling a diagnostic subsystem and interactively participating in the experimental program on Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) from a remote site has been developed and demonstrated on the TFTR BES experiment. Interactive communications are established from multiscreen remote workstations at the University of Wisconsin to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory VAX cluster via multiple terminal sessions across the InterNet national network. Full control of the diagnostic, access to all relevant machine parameters and wave forms, and operations run logs are all available with automatic updates between plasma shots. A real-time count-down shot clock with timer, machine event status, and shot number provides a real-time interface to the TFTR shot sequence. This means of remote participation in a central fusion experiment provides vital experience for extrapolation to implementation on an ignition device to test engineering concepts.