CODE :602
INDIVIDUAL:Paul J. Pashby
TITLE :Orbiting Satellites Project
WEEK OF :July 7 to July 13, 1994
EUVE conducted a week of nominal operations which concluded with a short engineering test period. Currently we are taking a dithered observation of the star RE2009. All systems are green. Observation of the planet Jupiter in anticipation of its impact with comet Shoemaker/Levy will begin on July 13th.
The Explorer Platform Spacecraft bus continues to perform well. The first on-orbit executions of payload commands from the spacecraft's Absolute Time Processor (ATC) were successfully performed last week. Incrementally more complex ATC tasks will be performed this week and in the weeks to come until this mode of operation becomes standard for the mission. Tests of the process to inhibit the execution of the payload ATCs- desirable during instrument anomalies- were also successful. Six specially designed slews were conducted over the weekend as part of the process of gyro recalibration being conducted through the analysis and support of the GSFC Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF). The spacecraft also spent twelve hours in Survey Mode to gather quarterly performance trend data on EUVE's star trackers.
EUVE will conduct a scientifically important observation of the collision of Comet Shoemaker/Levy-9 with the planet Jupiter this week. Much engineering planning and testing has been accomplished to define the operations necessary to achieve the maximized science for this event. EUVE will roll to an attitude outside its normal constraints to begin the observation, and will slowly increase its antisun pitch until this too violates the defined guidelines. Because of the high pitch and roll, careful management of spacecraft power will be necessary.
No new problems or incidents to report.
EUVE will observe the effects of the comet collision on Jupiter's Magnetosphere and IO torus throughout much of the next few weeks.
A short observation of the star GD-246 will take place on July
16/17 when moon presence in the Deep Survey Spectrometer prevents
pointing towards Jupiter.