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| Name | Last modified | Size | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parent Directory | - | ||
| data/ | 2017-01-27 14:50 | - | |
The Mission Configuration files are part of the Herschel Uplink database. Uplink information consists of the observations to be executed on board and all the coding necessary to ensure that the observations were executed correctly and that all the necessary instrument and spacecraft parameters were properly set. Uplink consists of multiple elements that, together, link an observation to the correct version of the CUS (Common Uplink Software) to execute it correctly.
Description of contents The Mission Configurations are the versions of the CUS that control each of the instruments. Save for very early mission phases when some special Mission Configurations were constructed for switch-on activities, each Mission Configuration consists of CUS and calibration files for all three instruments. Each observation in the database is linked to a single Mission Configuration.
Mission configurations were of two main types: calibration and astronomer. Astronomer Mission Configurations were designed to be used for science; they used the best-knowledge values of parameters and best-practice settings to get the best science results out of a particular observing mode. Calibration Mission Configurations are a mixture of experimental CUS (to test new settings, or new methods of execution of an observing mode) and special settings for engineering modes of observation that were never used for science observations. For HIFI, towards the end of the mission, there were also special contingency Mission Configurations defined. These were never used, but would have been activated had HIFI declared that the progressive degradation being experienced by the laser COMB had reached the level of a laser failure, meaning that the standard mode of observing was no longer valid.
One sub-directory for each Mission Configuration, with the name of the Mission Configuration. Within each directory is the Mission Configuration (CUS and CAL) for each instrument in its own individual sub-directory used to construct the overall Mission Configuration. A fourth sub-directory contains all the processing logs.
MC Mission Configuration
H/P/S Instrument for which it is defined (HIFI/PACS/SPIRE)
Nnn Sequential number. Pre-flight, each instrument prepared a special Mission Configuration for Phase 3 data entry with best-guess parameters.
ASTR MC valid for scheduling science observations.
Each Mission Configuration contains a suffix defining the use for which the Mission Configuration was prepared. These were:
CAL Valid only for engineering or experimental calibration AORs
COP Valid for Commissioning observations only
PV Valid for Performance Validation observations
ASTR Valid for science use in an non-science observing phase
SDP Valid for SDP observations
RP Valid for all routine observations
AO Special MC prepared for an Announcement of Opportunity
Rollback Rollback of a (failed) previous delivery
GYRO To be used only with gyro-propagation observations.
TEST Test MC
HPSDB To be used only with a new HPSDB delivery
CONTINGENCY To be used in the case of HIFI laser COMB failure
Hybrid Special MC that mixed CAL and ASTR MCs
There are 248 individual Mission Configurations that have been defined during the mission. Each Mission Configuration gives its name to a directory containing the associated CUS and CAL for each instrument and the logs of processing.
CUS files (\*.def) ASCII plain text
Calibration files (\*.xml) XML files
Delivery (\*.tar) Tarball of delivery
Duration check files (\*.sh, \*.py) Shell (or, for SPIRE, Python) scripts run as a sanity check of AOR durations
Delivery note (\*.txt) Delivery note with basic information
Duration files (\*.dat, \*.txt) ASCII plain text with the expected AOR durations using this CUS