To: All Instrument Teams From: SOHO Science Operations Coordinators Subject: Commanding from MEDOC Last Updated: 3 May 2007; Original version: 11 December 1996; revised versions 12 May 1999 and 13 May 2005 What follows is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed by the MEDOC operations personnel, the SOCs, FOT, and Project Scientists. All requests to command from MEDOC will be decided on a case-by-case basis. This SOP is to ensure that precautions are taken due to the remote nature of MEDOC commanding. Standard Operating Procedure MEDOC COMMANDING 1) MEDOC contacts the EOF SOC to request a commanding session at least on the day before for morning commanding, and before the EOF daily meeting (at 10 AM GSFC local time) for afternoon commanding so that both the FOT and other instrument teams can be consulted prior to MEDOC commanding. In the MEDOC communication (either by e-mail or phone), ALL of the following items should be specified: - Type of Activity -- science observations or engineering Also: Will any red or yellow limits be flagged? - Priority -- Is dedicated NRT or priority commanding needed? - In case of engineering activity, when will the OBT/LOBT check made (see section 3 below)? - Contingency Plans (for engineering or special operations) a) If something goes wrong with the instrument, what procedures should the FOT perform (if different from standard operations)? b) Also, if something happens to the phone lines or network connections at any point during the commanding session, what (if anything) should be done - normal limit monitoring (default) or something else? 2) EOF SOC and MEDOC will confirm: - The time (UT) to start commanding from MEDOC. This will make certain that the EOF office is staffed with a SOC and the FOT is staffed with an Observatory Engineer (OE). It is also suggested that a system/network administrator for both EOF and MEDOC be "on-call" or otherwise reachable during this time. - A phone number at MEDOC which will be dedicated to talk to the EOF. Someone at MEDOC will need to be by this phone at all times during MEDOC commanding in the case of an unexpected event. MEDOC should also supply one backup phone number in case. 3) At the agreed commanding time, MEDOC calls the EOF at the following phone number: +1 301 2868985. As a backup number, use +1 301 2863797. If the MEDOC commanding includes engineering activities, the telemetry On-Board Time (OBT) and Local On-Board Time (LOBT) need to be checked against a real-time clock before any engineering activity. Since the telemetry buffers of medociws can introduce shift/asynchronicity in perceived time, the check is necessary to avoid such a situation - which has occurred in the past at least once. EOF SOC will confirm that MEDOC is aware of the NRT schedule and any "unusual" activities by other teams, inform them about scheduled pauses and the ending of NRT, then enable MEDOC for commanding. EOF SOC will inform MEDOC immediately of any unscheduled pauses or commanding/telemetry problems. MEDOC will inform the EOF when they are finished commanding. 4) In the event a network problem occurs, the following method will be used to investigate the problem: - A phone call is initiated to confirm both sides see problem. - MEDOC will inform the EOF as to the commanding instrument's status at that moment. (Is the instrument in a safe or unsafe position ?) If the instrument is in danger, the instrument team will confirm safing procedures and the EOF SOC will immediately notify the FOT. - If the instrument is not in any danger, checks of the network status will be made. However, it could take a some time before network connection can be re-established. ECS and MEDOC system administrators will be in contact to handle the problem. 5) In the event of a "MEDOC Campaign" where instrument planning/commanding is being done from MEDOC, it may happen that an instrument team will see a problem with their instrument at hours when a SOC and Observatory Engineer are not on duty. In such a situation, the instrument team should: - Decide if a TSTOL, contingency script, or delayed command file is the preferred method to safe their instrument. - Call the FOT and request a TSTOL procedure to be run, a contingency script executed or a delayed command file uplinked. - Follow up e-mail (ecs@soc.nascom.nasa.gov; phone call to +1 301 2868985 or telefax to +1 301 2860218 as backups) to report what happened. This report will be incorporated into an Operations Change Directive (OCD) and associated anomaly reports.