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Current Weekly Report Extracts
USRA SOFIA Weekly Report Digest - September 7, 2007
Science and Program Management & Systems Engineering
- Attended and provided review input to the Mission Control and Communications System (MCCS) Tiger Team closeout review
- Continued development of position descriptions and statements-of-work for FY08 hires
- Worked with project controls and USRA to establish cost accounts by WBS in preparation for Oct 1 cost reporting
Science and Mission Operations
- Provided input to the layout of the SOFIA Operations Center (SOC) at Palmdale
- Participated in Data Cycle System (DCS) and software validation efforts
- Wrote initial draft of Early/Short Science Data Rights and Use agreement
- Attended Spitzer data reduction workshop
- Visited Palomar observatory to see FORCAST instrument on the telescope
Mission Operations, Engineering And Maintenance
- Participated in the Telescope Assembly (TA) Modal Survey and Finite Element Model (FEM) workshop
- Distributed draft Technical Note regarding the details and lift hardware associated with removing the Primary Mirror Assembly from the aircraft to the internal (TA) team for review
- Help complete move downsizing SOFIA instrument lab and shop space in N211 hangar
- Attended meeting with architectural representatives from Dryden to plan space for Mirror Coating Facility (south).
- Set up Mirror Coating Facility (north) for arrival of Patrick Waddell, and activities he has planned for his visit
- Organized and made available existing documentation currently available for Mirror Coating Facility and conduct status meeting for Mirror Coating Facility with USRA and NASA Ames Science Project
- Mission Ops personnel attended Crimping, Interconnecting Cables, Harness, and Wiring certification course
- Assisted with preparation for upcoming closed-door flights.
- Attended MCCS Tiger Team architecture out-brief at DFRC on 8/30
- Set-up online calendar and blog site to help with communications among TA Group members (across 3 locations: DFRC, ARC, DSI/Stuttgart), particularly with travel, TA/aircraft operations status, and upcoming events
- Completed second review and rework cycle of SOFIA Modification Audit (Ref. # 33-10-06) Non-Conformance Status Report for Telescope Assembly and associated (cavity door and instrumentation) systems
Science Instruments
- Work statements and budget discussions planned on instrument development cost and scheduled work during 2008.
- Held an Early Science instrument teleconference on Thursday August 30th. Discussion topics were Early Science constraints/requirements and initial flight planning results
- Preparing Early Science milestone schedule in support of Ames Science Project efforts
- Held discussions with the architect team from DFRC regarding instrument ground support requirements and lab space
- Attended Finite Element Model (FEM) workshop, regarding telescope stability and pointing accuracy, with German representatives
- Continued preparing counterweight rack drawing and data to allow vendor bidding
Information Technology & Information Systems Development
- Attended (remotely) Mission Control and Communications System (MCCS) tiger-team out-brief.
- Met with E. Harmon re: Early Science milestones for Data Cycle System, (DCS) Flight Management, and Mission Control Sub-system.
- Expect to complete DCS Verification Test Plan review (Sept. 5)
- Expect to complete SOFIA Command Language (SCL) specification for early science (Sept. 7)
- Continuing performance testing for Flight Planning Editor Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) (est. completion: Sept 14)
Education and Public Outreach
- Drafted press release regarding FORCAST at Palomar in collaboration with USRA HQ Public Affairs
- Presented SOFIA exhibit with mission and E&PO materials at the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP)'s annual national astronomy E&PO conference in Chicago; SOFIA is one of the conference's institutional sponsors
- Attended NASA Origins Forum mission E&PO leads' tag-up in conjunction with ASP conference
- Continued preparations for SOFIA exhibits and presence at: (a) Wired Magazine's "NextFest" (Sept. 13-16, Los Angeles), (b) AAS Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) annual meeting (Oct. 7-12, Orlando), (c) Holloman AFB / X-Prize national air show (Oct. 24-28, New Mexico), and (d) California Science Teachers Association (CSTA) annual convention (Oct. 25-27, Long Beach)
- Continued working with ARC Director's Office to plan events for SOFIA's visit to Ames in October
Travel & Visitors
- Eric Becklin, John McClelland, and Maureen Savage traveled to Palomar Observatory for the FORCAST instrument run on the 200-inch telescope
- German visitors to Ames for the Finite Element Model (FEM) workshop, Sept. 4-7: Heinz Hammes (DLR), Peter Eisentraeger (MT Mechatronics), Hans Kaercher (MT Mechatronics), Joerg Wagner (DSI), Thomas Wegmann (DSI), Thomas Keilig (DSI), and Ulrich Lampater (DSI)
- David Black traveled to DFRC for certification course and help with preparations for closed-door flight test series
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES / EVENTS / MILESTONES:
Science and Program Management & Systems Engineering
- Continuing definition of Early Science
- Continuing definition of staffing plan and hiring strategy for staff ramp-up in FY08/09
Science and Mission Operations
- Sep 24-27: James Webb Space Telescope workshop on synergy with other missions, Tucson
- Sep 26: University of San Francisco physics department colloquium re. SOFIA (D. Backman)
- Dec 6-8: SOFIA 2020 Vision Workshop at Caltech
- Jan. 8: SOFIA special session at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting, Austin, Texas, to gather community input regarding SOFIA's science priorities
Mission Operations, Engineering And Maintenance
Information Technology & Information Systems Development
- Complete DCS verification against minimum science capabilities: Sept 30
- Release Flight Planning Editor to early science SI teams: final date still TBD
Education and Public Outreach
- Sept. 13-16: SOFIA exhibit, jointly w/ DFRC, at Wired Magazine 's "NextFest" in LA
- Sept. 14: Talk on infrared astronomy and SOFIA to Antelope Valley Astronomy Club
- Oct 7-12: SOFIA exhibit at AAS Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) annual meeting in Orlando
- Oct. 24-28: SOFIA exhibit at Holloman AFB / X-Prize air show in New Mexico
- Oct. 25-27: SETI / SOFIA / Kepler mission joint exhibit at California Science Teachers Association meeting in Long Beach; talk on infrared astronomy and SOFIA, 10/27
- Nov. 16: Talk on infrared astronomy and SOFIA at Turtle Bay science museum in Redding, California, jointly sponsored by SETI Institute
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