KEYWORDS: James Webb Space Telescope, Software development, Databases, Space operations, Interfaces, Human-machine interfaces, Hubble Space Telescope, Computing systems, Space telescopes, Observatories
The Space Telescope Science Institute's development of the James Webb Space Telescope's science operations systems
has benefitted from and has been a benefit to the current operations for the Hubble Space Telescope. Changes and
improvements to systems shared by both missions have helped the HST mission keep up with newer technologies, while
providing a free, live testbed for further JWST development.
KEYWORDS: James Webb Space Telescope, Software development, Databases, Virtual point source, Space telescopes, Observatories, Imaging spectroscopy, Hubble Space Telescope, Telescopes, Space operations
The observer program implementation, planning, and scheduling subsystems are undergoing software development for
the James Webb Space Telescope front-end ground segment and are being tested in an integrated fashion. This part of
the ground system leverages what was developed and fine-tuned for the Hubble Space Telescope over previous decades.
This paper will describe the testing design, methods, results, plus the current capabilities and elements still to be
developed for these subsystems through the time of publication. We will point out elements from Hubble's systems,
from an operations perspective, which have been preserved for the new telescope, and those which require
redevelopment.
In order to maximize the useful life of the remaining operational gyroscopes and extend the life of the mission, the Hubble Space Telescope began 2-Gyro observations in the summer of 2005. The operational switch had implications for the planning and scheduling of the telescope; those issues are discussed here. In addition, we present an analysis of the resulting scheduling rates and telescope efficiency.
Introduction of the Large Proposal category for HST observing in Cycle 11 resulted in a significant migration toward multiple observing programs requiring 100 or more orbits on single target areas. While relatively benign in the inaugural Cycle, this policy created a formidable planning problem in Cycle 12 due to acceptance of several large programs with identical or closely located targets. The nature of this observing pool revealed shortcomings in the established processes for building an integrated HST science plan. Historically it has not been difficult to normalize individual programs within the overall HST observing plan. However, conflicts arising from competing demands and overlapping time windows in Cycle 12 necessitated compromises between programs at a more significant scale than experienced ever before. The planning tools and techniques needed to change rapidly in response, and communication both within the STScI and between the STScI and the affected observers was more crucial than ever before. Large and small-scale changes to major observing programs were necessary to create a viable integrated observing plan. This paper describes the major features of the Cycle 12 observing pool, the impact it had on the STScI front-end operations processes and how an executable Cycle 12 HST observing program was achieved.
KEYWORDS: Space telescopes, Hubble Space Telescope, Telescopes, Interfaces, Visibility, Astronomy, Space operations, Software, Cameras, Information technology
Over one-third of HST observing time in the past two cycles has been dedicated to proposals with allocations greater than 100 orbits. This has led to scheduling difficulties in HST's traditional two-phase proposal process. We describe the changes that were made to the Cycle 13 Phase I proposal process that were needed to assist users and planners later on in Phase II. Some traditionally Phase II information is now requested with large proposals submitted in Phase I so users (and planners) can determine the feasibility of scientific constraints in planning the large observations. Since HST proposers use the Astronomer's Proposal Tool (APT) for both Phases, moving Phase II processing into the Phase I interface was more straightforward than would have been possible with RPS2 (the old Phase II tool). We will also describe the expected changes to internal procedures in planning these large proposals after Phase I acceptance.
Representatives of the HST user community urged that a sizeable portion (10-30%) of HST's observing program be dedicated to large observing projects, each of 100 orbits or more of telescope time. In the first 10 Cycles of HST observing, this goal was not fully realized. In HST's Cycle 11, large programs make up nearly 40% of the HST General Observer time allocation. We describe the advances in proposal processing that have made this possible, and give examples of the scientific and mission goals that these programs are designed to meet.
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