ACIS Instrument Support - Monthly Progress Report for February 2018

1.  ACIS Characterization

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).

  ... Requested new raw mode data.  Previous data set was taken in July 2017.

  ...  Installed new versions of ACIS software monitoring software (catnrt, getnrt, and pmon) onto aciscdp-v.  After some error-free run time, will be installed on all SAO real-time web page locations.  Updates include new alerts for S/W Housekeeping channels including unexpected FEP Resets.

  ...  Accepted to present a poster at June SPIE meeting on "Reducing the ATHENA WFI background with the science products module: lessons from Chandra ACIS and Suzaku XIS".  Will include data analysis of particle tracks in ACIS full frames.


2.  Engineering

2.1 Instrument hardware engineering performance

  ...  Continue to monitor long term ACIS instrument performance.  All engineering data remains nominal.
  
  ...  The EEPROM checksum was verified in the FEB0518 load.   Will continue to run monthly.  MIT telemetry processing will automatically check the results and send out an alert if the checksum is unexpected.

  ...  Comparing list of SOPs active on the FOT webpage to what the ACIS team thinks should be there.  A few discrepancies are being worked.

2.2 Flight software maintenance

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

  ...  We continue to monitor threshold crossing rates.  The current TXINGS parameters, which were last updated on July 28, 2016, will need to be updated in the next few months to keep the trigger thresholds well above the increasing particle background.  This update will likely be the last increase, as the rates should subsequently start dropping again.

  ...  Considering a patch to the ACIS flight software that would allow ACIS to monitor it's own FEP / BEP board temperatures and autonomously turn off FEP power if temperatures go above the red limit.  Requested by FOT, to allow them to "schedule more aggressively".

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.

  ...  Pointed CXC Marx scientist towards code libraries necessary for running the ACIS CCD simulator.

3.2 Provide data analysis support

  ...  Participated in CXC Cal/Ops ACIS response discussion group.  Discussed updates to the ACIS QEU and contamination.

  ...  Discussed how observations with out-of-spec focal plane temperatures are being dealt with in the pipeline and V&V.  Recommended that V&V warnings about out-of-spec temperatures should be reinstated.  Worked on the wording for the V&V report.

  ...  Participated in Cool Targets Program working group.  Supported discussion of the potential burden on ACIS SI mode assignment and generation.

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

  ...  Participated in program planning for upcoming IACHEC meeting (April in Italy).

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.  Working on updating documentation.

  ...  New EGSE workstations for the relocated OCC are currently being configured and set up with appropriate software.

4.2 Generation of commands for ACIS observations

  ...  In response to FOT request, discussing whether reducing ACIS power by turning off FEPs and video boards between observations (during slews and intermediate attitudes) would be desirable.  Came to a concensus on the required commands and proposed timing.

  ...  Working on removing ACIS ops dependence on "expect" by replacing the functionality with a perl module under ACIS ops configuration control.  Testing new / updated scripts.  Released in March.

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

  ...  Continuing familiarization with SACGS operation and under-the-hood functioning.

  ...  Reviewed FEB2618A, FEB2618B, and FEB2618C command loads. Reviewed FEB2618, MAR0518 (x2) preliminary schedules, FEB2618 (x2) and MAR0518 (x2) final OR list, and MAR1218 Long Term Schedule OR list.

  ...  Assigned 4 SI modes.  Dropped chips from 4 ObsIDs, undropped chips from 3 ObsIDs.

  ...  Checking on automated processes associated with SACGS.