ACIS Instrument Support - Monthly Progress Report for December 2009

1.  ACIS Characterization

1.1 Characterize and model radiation damage in ACIS CCDs

  ...  Continued work on irradiation/annealing tests done at GSFC
in 2005.  Writing up as a paper.

1.3 Monitor scientific on-orbit performance of ACIS

  ...  Continued monitoring of ACIS CTI, gain, trailing pixel 
pulseheight, detector efficiency, corner pixel distribution, spectral 
line centroid and width, and focal plane temperature.  Updated 
monitoring web pages.  (http://space.mit.edu/~cgrant/monitor.html)

  ...  Submitted abstract to upcoming HEAD meeting on the ACIS instrument
team monitoring effort.


2.  Engineering

2.1 Instrument hardware engineering performance

  ...  Continue to monitor long term ACIS instrument performance. 
ACIS hardware continues to operate nominally.

2.2 Flight software maintenance

  ...  Testing and documentation of new flight software standard patch 
release E completed.  Patch review took place in early January. Patch
release E fixes the problems with release D.  This version includes two 
new standard patches, badpix and buscrash2, which address software problem 
reports 141 and 142.

2.3 Instrument science performance

  ...  Continued investigation into whether ACIS can act as it's own
radiation monitor, prompted by action from the thermal working group
which is concerned about the continued degradation of EPHIN. Examining
available data taken in high radiation environments, i.e. at low 
altitudes or immediately preceeding radiation shutdowns.

  ...  Submitted abstract to upcoming SPIE meeting on our evaluation
of ACIS as a particle monitor.

  ...  Participated in radiation working group telecon.

  ...  Participated in monthly ACIS operations meeting.  Discussed
focal plane temperatures, other thermal trends and modeling and
measuring the radiation environment.

  ...  Continued daily quick-look processing of ACIS telemetry and
maintained Web interface to ACIS real-time data.

  ...  Continued to publish the "annotated DOT" timeline reports.


3.  CXC Support

3.1 Provide user support

  ...  Updated ACIS memo listing calibration ObsIDs and 
observation characteristics (ACIS Memo #165).

3.2 Provide data analysis support

  ...  Participated in CXC Cal/Ops modeling discussion group.  Discussed
status of temperature-dependent CTI correction software, CC-mode calibration 
and modeling of near-edge structures in the C-K edge of the contaminant.

  ...  Reviewed tests of the temperature-dependent CTI correction algorithm.

  ...  Continued to maintain ACIS calibration database of ground 
and flight data products.

4.  OCC Support

4.1 Use of MIT/ACIS EGSE at OCC

  ...  Continued support and maintenance of ACIS EGSE software and
hardware at the OCC.


Outreach:

none this month

all recent memos available at http://space.mit.edu/ACIS/iacis.html