ACIS Instrument Support - Monthly Progress Report for January 2019

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).

  ...  Presented poster at January AAS meeting on "Twenty years of the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on the Chandra X-ray Observatory."


2.  Engineering

2.1 Instrument hardware engineering performance

  ...  Continue to monitor long term ACIS instrument performance.  A review of engineering data over the past 60 days shows no unexpected trends.
  
  ...  The EEPROM checksum was verified in the JAN2119 load.   Will continue to run monthly.  MIT telemetry processing will automatically check the results and send out an alert if the checksum is unexpected.

2.2 Flight software maintenance

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

  ...  Ran a real-time CAP to dump the ACIS flight software.  Supported CAP review.  Supported CAP execution by directing activity on the voice loop.  On-board flight software is as expected.  Succeeded in secondary goal of having non-expert ACIS personnel do the real-time dump verification.  This same CAP will be rerun after the OCC move to verify ground support equipment and software commanding.

  ...  We continue to monitor threshold crossing rates.  The current TXINGS parameters, which were last updated on July 28, 2016, may 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.

  ...  Continuing forward with ACIS patch level G-H-I.  This patch makes two changes to the current F-G-H patches.  Updated buscrash2 patch to force end of science run following SCS107, and new deahktrip patch to respond to "red alert" DPA component temperatures.  Ready to build the command packets to upload and for approval by the Flight Directors Board.

  ...  Reviewed CLD file containing commnds to end a long ECS measurement.

  ...  Reviewed CAP template for a 4-CCD long ECS measurement at the nominal focal plane setpoint and at warmer focal plane setpoints.

  ... Sent to FOT list of additional ACIS focal plane temperature setpoint commands for incorporation into CLD files.

2.3 Instrument science performance

  ...  Participated in monthly ACIS operations meeting.  Discussed OCC move, SOP development, and plans for the Sco X-1 observation.

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

  ...  Supported recovery from unexpected CDP shutdown on Jan 24.  ACIS monitoring machines were up and running within a few hours.

  ...  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.

3.2 Provide data analysis support

  ...  Participated in CXC Cal/Ops ACIS response discussion group.  Discussed QE uniformity and calibration of warm data.

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

  ...  Contributed to IACHEC newsletter describing activities of Detectors and Background Working Group.  Submitted to the astro-ph (arXiv:1901.00934).


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.  Released final version of documentation describing maintenance and real-time usage of ACIS ops machines in the TST room.

  ...  Continued support of the move of the OCC to Wayside.  Documented internal pre-phase 3 ACIS testing of the EGSE, with pre-loaded data, independent of FOT testing.  Discussions of the network setup for the EGSE machines.  Working on getting access cards for the ACIS team.  

4.2 Generation of commands for ACIS observations

  ...  Presented a new ACIS load review checklist item regarding dither and bright sources at the Mission Planning Constraints Working Group.  Approved.

  ...  Working with USINT to configuring AO-20 observation of Sco X-1, an extremely bright source.  Proposed configuration requires multiple spatial windows with energy filters.

  ...  Contributed to training document for new ACIS ops hire, Jack Steiner, who starts April 1.

  ...  Reviewed JAN0719A and JAN0419A command loads.  Reviewed JAN0419 and JAN1419 preliminary schedules.  Reviewed JAN0419, JAN1419 and FEB0419 final OR lists, and JAN2119 and FEB1819 Long Term Schedule OR lists.

  ...  Reviewed JAN0419T MATLAB test load.

  ...  Built two new SI modes.  Dropped chips from 9 ObsIDs.  Assigned 14 SI modes.

  ...  Checking on automated processes associated with SACGS.