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8 hour simulated mission in the SOFIA Integration Lab (SIL)

This group of clips are made from an 8 hour simulated mission in the SOFIA Integration Lab (SIL) located at SOFIA USRA, NASA Ames Research Center. The 3 clips demonstrate:

1. defining an AOI and move to bore sight,
2. tracking on a target during a long leg
3. inertial stable on a target until the TA hit the limit then lost tracking

Clip 1: move_to_bore_sight.avi (1.12 MB)

Time scale = 1 (1 second movie time = 1 second flying time). The AOI (Area of Interest) is defined in another window (not visible in the clip). Watch the red crosses move to a position on top of each other. The clip also shows the relative position of the Telescope Assembly (TA), the aperture, and the cavity door. The green area represents fine drive's 3 degree moving range of elevation, cross elevation and Line-of-Sight.

Clip 2: orion_rise_set.avi (2.49 MB)

Time scale = 600 (1 second movie time = 10 minutes flying time). This clip shows the Telescope Assembly is stable, pointing to Orion. You can see Orion rise and set, and sky is rotating.

Clip 3: inertial_stable_till_dead_band.avi (1.69 MB)

Time scale = 300 (1 second movie time = 5 minutes flying time)
This clip shows tracking in inertial_ stable mode. The aperture is following the Telescope Assembly (TA) and adjusts its position as it gets close to its limit. When the door hits a limit (3 degree Line-of-Sight, LOS), the TA stops tracking. The end of clip shows the sky view turning rapidly when the plane changes its heading.