The Evolution of the FUSE Spike Long Range Planning System

H.M. Calvani
calvani@pha.jhu.edu
A.F. Berman
aberman@pha.jhu.edu
W.P. Blair
wpb@pha.jhu.edu
J.R. Caplinger
caplingr@pha.jhu.edu
M.N. England
england@pha.jhu.edu
B.A. Roberts
broberts@pha.jhu.edu
R. Hawkins
rhawkins@stsci.edu
N. Ferdous
ferdous@stsci.edu
T. Krueger

kruger@stsci.edu

Abstract


The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite was launched in 1999 to perform high resolution spectroscopy of astronomical sources in the 905-1187 Å spectral region. The Long Range Planning (LRP) of all the science, calibration and engineering activities for the FUSE mission is performed using a FUSE-specific Spike scheduling software package developed at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). In this paper we present a description and evolution of the FUSE Spike LRP system given the pre-launch mission assumptions, on-orbit realities, and the operational challenges encountered after mechanical failure, and subsequent modification of the attitude control system in November-December 2001. Despite the operational challenges faced throughout the mission, the FUSE Spike planning software has successfully adjusted to the dynamic set of operational constraints and has maintained the predicted pre-launch average science efficiency (~30%).

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