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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Washington, D.C. 20546 Reply IO Attn of SZ To: Distribution FROM: S/Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications SUBJECT: Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) Prelaunch Mission Operation Report (MOR) The Prelaunch Mission Operation Report (MOR) for the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) is enclosed for your information. ROSAT is a large, 5333 lb., Explorer class scientific satellite configured to accommodate a large x-ray telescope, the most powerful one ever built, for the measurement of soft x-ray emissions from celestial objects. A secondary telescope, the Wide Field Camera, is also carried to extend the spectra measured into the extreme ultraviolet band. ROSATs science mission is scheduled in two phases: (a) a 6 months survey phase, conducted.by German scientists, to produce an all-sky map and catalog of x-ray sources, and (b) a pointed phase, lasting at least 12 months, during which the telescopes are pointed at preselected individual x-ray sources designated by Guest Observers. This MOR: (a) describes the objectives of the ROSAT mission; (b) provides brief descriptions of the spacecraft and its scientific instruments; (c) provides a chronology of launch, deployment, and acquisition events; and (d) describes the ground operation elements that support the mission. The ROSAT mission is an international collaboration between NASA, the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Science and Engineering Research Council in the United Kingdom. NASA is providing the Delta II launch and the High Resolution Imaging detector at the focal plane of the x-ray telescope. The NASA Guest Observer program is allocated 50% of the observing time in the pointing phase of the mission. The ROSAT observations will provide the astrophysics community with the only x-ray astronomical imaging data between the High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO-2) whose mission ended in 198 1, and the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), whose mission is to start in 1997. L. A. Fisk Enclosure National Aeronautics and Space Administration Mission ODeration ReDort OFFICE OF SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS REPORTNO. E-876-90-03 ROENTGENSATELLIT (ROSAT) TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ........................................................................................... 1 ROSAT Program Overview ...................................................................... 2 NASA Objectives for the Roentgen Satellite Mission ......................................... 4 Mission History .................................................................................... 6 Mission Phases ..................................................................................... The All-Sky Survey Phase ............................................................... ; The Pointed Phase ........................................................................ 9 Scientific Objectives ............................................................................... General Goals and Objectives ........................................................... f f Typical Specific Objectives .............................................................. 12 Science Instruments ............................................................................... The X-Ray Telescope (XRT) ............................................................ t ; (a) The X-Ray Mirror Assembly (XMA) .................................... 18 (b) The Position Sensitive Proportional Counters (PSPC) ................ 18 (c) The High Resolution Imag&r (HRI) ...................................... The Wide Field Camera (WFC) ......................................................... 2: Spacecraft Description . 27 Mission Sequence .................................................................................. Vehicle and Launch Site .................................................................. ;: Launch Sequence ......................................................................... Premeasurement Phase ................................................................... ;: Launch Windows ......................................................................... 37 Mission Support ................................................................................... Mission Control ........................................................................... 3”; Tracking and Data Acquisition .......................................................... (a) General ...................................................................... :; (b) NASA Role ................................................................. Data Management ......................................................................... % Mission Management . ..*..*..............*..................*........*.... 44 Project Acronyms.. , , . 47 . Figure 1. ROS AT Flight and Launch Configurations.. 7 Figure 2. Launch Vehicle Schematic ...................................................... 8 Figure 3. Scan Profile for the All-sky Survey ........................................... 11 Figure 4. Sensitivity of ROSAT for X-ray Deep Surveys Compared with the Deep Survey Sensitivity of the Einstein Observatory ................... 14 Figure 5. X-ray Telescope Cross-section Layout and Dimensions .................... 16 Figure 6. X-ray Telescope Exploded View ............................................... 17 Figure 7. Schematic Diagram of the PSPC ............................................... 20 Figure 8. PSPC with Filter Wheel ......................................................... 21 Figure 9. HRI Detector Assembly ......................................................... 22 Figure 10. HRI Command/Data Electronics Assembly.. ................................. 23 Figure 11. HRI Detector Schematic.. ....................................................... 24 Figure 12. HRI Image Processing Electronics ............................................ 24 Figure 13. Wide Field Camera Cross-section Layout and Dimensions.. ............... 26 Figure 14. Spacecraft Exploded View ...................................................... 28 Figure 15. Temperature Requirements ..................................................... 30 Figure 16. Launch Boost Profile ............................................................ 34 Figure 17. ROSAT/%d Stage Initial Orbit and Signal Acquisition ..................... 35 Figure 18. Location of Main Engine and Fairing Impact ................................. 36 Figure 19. ROSAT Operational Functions and Interfaces ................................ 40 Figure 20. ROSAT Tracking Network ..................................................... 41 Figure 21. ROSAT X-ray Data Flow ....................................................... 43 ii - .,I_-. I -__;^so.- ._ .*__-_,.____,-_ ..___ . ,.,.___.^ ___.____..-. __ ._ ..-._.-_. -..,- ^~.,..- _.-.---. LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Mission Phases .................................................................... 10 Table 2. ROSAT Mirrors .................................................................. 19 Table 3. ROSAT Instrument Characteristics ............................................ 20 Table 4. Spacecraft Characteristics ....................................................... 27 Table 5. ROSAT Launch: Sequence of Events (‘Vehicle) ............................. 32 Table 6. ROSAT Launch: Sequence of Events (Spacecraft) .......................... 33 Table 7. ROSAT Launch Windows.. .................................................... 38 . 111 MISSION OPERATION REPORTS are published expressly for the use of NASA senior management, as required by the Administrator in NASA Management Instruction NMI 8610.38, dated May 13,1982. The purpose of these reports is to provide NASA senior management with timely, complete, and definitive information on flight mission plans, and to establish official mission objectives which provide the basis for assessment of mission accomplishment. Reports are prepared and issued for each flight project just prior to launch. Following launch, updating reports for each mission are issued to keep management currently informed of definitive mission results as provided in NASA Management Instruction HQMI 86lO.lB. These reports are sometimes highly technical and are for personnel having program/project management responsibilities. The Public Affairs Division publishes a comprehensive series of reports on NASA flight missions which are available for dissemination to the news media. Published and Distributed by the OFFICE OF HEADQUARTERS OPERATIONS NASA HEADQUARTERS 1 The NASA Astrophysics Program seeks: to understand the origin and fate of the universe; to understand the birth and evolution of the large variety of objects in the universe, from the most benign to the most violent; and to probe the fundamental laws of physics by examining their behavior under extreme physical conditions. These goals are pursued by means of observations across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, and through theoretical interpretation of radiations and fields associated with astrophysical systems. Astrophysics orbital flight programs are structured under one of two operational objectives: (1) the establishment of permanent “Great Observatories” for viewing the universe in four major wavelength regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (ifrared/submillimeter radio, ultraviolet/visible, X-ray, and gamma ray bands), and (2) the obtainment of crucial bridging and supporting measurements via missions with directed objectives
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