Chandra Announcement: Update on HRC Return to Science
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Tara Gokas
Jan 25, 2023, 4:35:46 PM1/25/23
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Update on HRC Return to Science
The Chandra science and engineering teams are preparing to return the HRC to use for science observations. Following an investigation of the anomaly experienced on 09 February 2022, the teams have tested scenarios by which observations with the instrument can again commence. Four successful observations were carried out in the investigation, and the instrument behavior was nominal in each.
To avoid conditions encountered in the previous anomaly, thermal models will be used to limit observation durations that would lead to temperatures above a defined threshold. Observing segments will be limited to durations of 15 ks or less, with at least 30 ks intervals between successive observations with the instrument.
Current plans are to begin scheduling HRC observations in the regular spacecraft loads beginning with the week of 06 March 2023, although some testing of the schedule generation is still underway. The current Chandra long-term schedule (LTS) has been updated to include HRC observations, with all such targets from Cycle 22 and 23 targeted for completion by the end of the LTS (except for a few with constraints that require later observations). Some Cycle 24 HRC observations are in the current LTS as well. The remainder, along with remaining Cycle 24 ACIS observations, will be placed in the next LTS that will begin in November 2023.
The Chandra science and engineering teams are preparing to return the HRC to use for science observations. Following an investigation of the anomaly experienced on 09 February 2022, the teams have tested scenarios by which observations with the instrument can again commence. Four successful observations were carried out in the investigation, and the instrument behavior was nominal in each.
To avoid conditions encountered in the previous anomaly, thermal models will be used to limit observation durations that would lead to temperatures above a defined threshold. Observing segments will be limited to durations of 15 ks or less, with at least 30 ks intervals between successive observations with the instrument.
Current plans are to begin scheduling HRC observations in the regular spacecraft loads beginning with the week of 06 March 2023, although some testing of the schedule generation is still underway. The current Chandra long-term schedule (LTS) has been updated to include HRC observations, with all such targets from Cycle 22 and 23 targeted for completion by the end of the LTS (except for a few with constraints that require later observations). Some Cycle 24 HRC observations are in the current LTS as well. The remainder, along with remaining Cycle 24 ACIS observations, will be placed in the next LTS that will begin in November 2023.
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