Improvements to Warm IRAC/Spitzer Space Telescope Operations
Abstract
We present current and future planned modifications to the operations of the Spitzer Space Telescope to facilitate science during the ongoing warm Spitzer mission. The 3.6 and 4.5 micron cameras of the IRAC instrument have been operating flawlessly and almost identically as they did in the cryogenic mission since the start of warm science operations in August 2009. The operations of the instrument and spacecraft continue to evolve as attempts are made to optimize observations for the expanding field of exoplanet transit studies. A significant improvement in the pointing stability was made in September 2010 by modifying the cycling temperatures of a spacecraft battery heater. Experiments aimed at improving the pointing drift and improving initial pointing accuracy are currently being planned or executed. To permit useful operations beyond 2013, methods of improving onboard data compression are being explored to mitigate the decreased bandwidth of data downlinks with Spitzer's increasing distance from Earth. This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through an award issued by JPL/Caltech.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #218
- Pub Date:
- May 2011
- Bibcode:
- 2011AAS...21833111C