ACIS Instrument Support - Monthly Progress Report for August 2016

1.  ACIS Characterization

1.3 Monitor scientific on-orbit performance of ACIS

  ...  Following Chandra bright star hold on August 21, verified ACIS was safe, monitoring housekeeping data, support safe recovery.

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

  ...  Discussed sacrificial charge correction with CXC ops.  Checking if any adjustment is necessary.

  ...  Upgraded OS on computer used for ACIS monitoring activities.

  ...  Presented a poster at the Chandra Science for the Next Decade workshop on ACIS status.

  ...  Bad data from real-time UDP telemetry feed puzzled ACIS monitoring software.  Working on a new version that is more careful about whether its parameter block information is still valid.

2.  Engineering

2.1 Instrument hardware engineering performance

  ...  Continue to monitor long term ACIS instrument performance.  1PIN1AT continues to shift between believable and open, but all else is nominal.
  
  ...  The EEPROM checksum was verified in the AUG0716B load.   Will continue to run monthly.  MIT telemetry processing will automatically check the results and send out an alert if the checksum is unexpected.

  ...  Reviewed updated FOT procedure, switch_bepa_b, and new FOT procedure and script, switch_bepb_a.  Suggested minor changes.  Will hopefully go to the FDB in September.

  ...  Resolved minor problem with interface to the engineering unit frame buffer that prevented SI mode testing.  Resolved by a power cycle.

2.2 Flight software maintenance

  ...  Flight software patch F-G-H (improved buscrash2) uploaded in June 2014.

2.3 Instrument science performance

  ...  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

  ...  ACIS memo listing calibration ObsIDs and observation characteristics (ACIS Memo #165) will no longer be updated.  Functionality is replaced by new web page (http://acis.mit.edu/asc/evt-page.html), which provides the same information but is more automated.  Added additional comments for early mission non-nominal tests.

  ...  Answered PSU instrument team question on CTI time dependence.

  ...  Answered CXC Marx scientist question about ACIS CCD simulator and event spliting statistics.  Shared simulator code.

  ...  Answered HRC scientist question about ACIS experience with radiation belt passages.

  ...  Answered FOT question on the exact time of uplink of an old ACIS patch.

  ...  Shared papers about ACIS radiation damage ground testing, and memo on consequences of future radiation belt transits with ACIS operations.

  ...  Shared entire mission of threshold crossings data with ACIS operations.

  ...  Provided comments on ACIS USINT letter for observers.

3.2 Provide data analysis support

  ...  Participated in CXC Cal/Ops ACIS response discussion group.  Discussed new contamination model and updates to tgain.

  ...  Participated in separate discussion of tgain results and updated processing software.  Helped with identifying early observations taken with non-nominal parameters.

  ...  Prepared summary of IACHEC CCD Working Group activities for upcoming IACHEC newsletter.

  ...  Worked on adding time-evolution to the BI CCD CTI-temperature relationship used by acis_process_events.  The precise values in the update are under development.

  ...  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.  Performed monthly check of all ACIS hardware and software in the TST room at the OCC.

4.2 Generation of commands for ACIS observations

  ...  Preparing for AO-18 global SI mode assignment in September.  Ran initial steps to uncover problematic configurations and assess how many new modes will be required.

  ...  Answered question about how energy filters in the Obscat are translated into instrument PHA values.  Conversions used by SACGS and load review software are not exactly the same.

  ...  Helped USINT find a pre-existing SI mode for a fast turn around DDT TOO.

  ...  Continued review and updating of SACGS documentation (SACGS = SOT ACIS Command Generation System).

  ...  Continuing familiarization with SACGS operation and under-the-hood functioning.  To-do list of planned updates distributed to operations team.

  ...  Reviewed AUG1516A command load.  Reviewed AUG2216 preliminary schedule and final OR list.  Reviewed AUG2916 Long Term Schedule OR list.

  ...  Dropped chips from five obsids.  Assigned two SI modes.

  ...  Checking on automated processes associated with SACGS.