ACIS Instrument Support - Monthly Progress Report for March 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).

  ...  ACIS real-time monitoring machine, acisway, is located at Wayside and now receiving telemetry.  A second machine, ishmael, was setup and readied to be moved to Wayside.

  ...  Presented poster at HEAD 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 MAR0419 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.

  ...  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.

2.3 Instrument science performance

  ...  Participated in monthly ACIS operations meeting.  Discussed OCC move and issues with the Sco X-1 observation.

  ...  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.

3.2 Provide data analysis support

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

  ...  Answered CXC scientist question on PHAS values and event grading.


4.  OCC Support

4.1 Use of MIT/ACIS EGSE at OCC

  ...  Continued support and maintenance of ACIS EGSE software and hardware at the Hampshire OCC.  Performed monthly check of all ACIS hardware and software in the TST room at the OCC.

  ...  Continued support of the move of the OCC to Wayside.  MIT EGSE machines setup at Wayside and receiving telemetry data.  ACIS team has all received access cards.  Performed a phase 2 test which required uploading ACIS tables to the ODB.  Ready for phase 3 testing.

4.2 Generation of commands for ACIS observations

  ...  In response to the misunderstanding of ACIS spatial windows, wrote a new window visualization tool which presents images representing any spatial windows for any ObsID or SI mode.  A report further describing window operation is in work.

  ...  Worked with ACIS Ops on incorporating MIT tools into load review software to better identify and describe spatial windows associated with SI modes.  

  ...  Reviewed training document on space weather.

  ...  Reviewed MAR1119A and MA1119B command loads.  Reviewed MAR1119 and MAR1819 preliminary schedules.  Reviewed MAR1119 and MAR1819 final OR lists.  Reviewed MAR2519 LTS OR list.

  ...  Dropped chips from 11 ObsIDs.

  ...  Checking on automated processes associated with SACGS.