Sept 08, 2005 Email ------------------- There was an impulsive X17 flare on the eastern limb due to region 10798 at 2005:250:17:40. An initial indication of rapidly rising hard protons from SIS looks to have been a spurious spike. At this time we have no data about an associated CME, though given the location on the limb we would not expect a full impact. No action is being taken right now regarding load replanning or shut down, but we will be watching the situation carefully. Sept 08, 2005 Email ------------------ SCS107 ran at 251:01:57:56 due to high E1300 rates. The SCS107 run was nominal with all expected errors seen in the OBC error log. This occurred during obsid 5760, leaving Chandra at a pitch of 132. The EPHIN temperature is currently at ~98 deg and expected to be stable at this attitude. The key issue is momentum, for which there is a violation predicted at 251:18:26:03. To avoid this MP will generate a maneuver-only load for uplink during the pass starting at 10:00am ET (251:14:00:00). Products are expected out tomorrow by 8am ET. To open other options in case of inability to uplink a maneuver load at the 10am pass, OC is requesting addition comm on DSS-66 tomorrow to move the start time to 251:18:20. The radiation situation now is uncertain but continued high electron and proton rates are expected. This will be discussed at a radiation telecon tomorrow following the 9am tagup on 1165#. The next realistic opportunity to resume science will be after perigee exit at ~252:19:00. Sept 09, 2005 Email ------------------- The hard protons are still rising at this point. Coupled with the series of X-class flares (including the recent long-duration ~X7) there is little hope of resuming science with the SEP1005 load tomorrow morning. The attempted SEP1005 restart has therefore been waived off. Our next target for picking up the loads is perigee exit around 255:11:00 (or slightly later) on Monday morning, with uplink opportunities at 255:05:10 and 255:11:25. The next radiation telecon at 9am ET on Sunday morning, 405-244-5060 1165#, where we will be making a decision on whether to direct FOT MP to build loads for the 255:11:00 pickup. Please note that the 6:50am telecon planned for Saturday morning is cancelled. Sept 11, 2005 Email ------------------- Given the current radiation environment (E1300 43.6 and P4GM 1517.5 vs <3.3 and <100 for restart and ACE P3 at ~33000), it is unlikely that we would be able to resume the science mission at 255:11:00 UT (about the next rad-zone exit). The current plan is to work on loads tomorrow for a start at ~256:08:00 UT. There will be a discussion of the radiation environment and trends following tomorrow's 9AM tag-up to review any modifications to the above plan. Sept 12, 2005 Email ------------------- At the radiation telecon at 9:15am EDT this morning we planned to restart the observing program by uploading a command load at the pass at 11:45pm EDT tonight. The load will be built to follow the previous SEP1205B schedule starting at 256:08:11GMT with obsid 6220. We have time to schedule a shorter observation prior to this, and the obsid 5555, ACIS-S/HETG of the Crab Nebula for 9ks, postponed from the shutdown last Thursday, is the apparent choice. Current conditions show the ACE 115-195 keV rates at about 20,000 and falling steeply, with Ephin readings of E1300 scattering around its threshold of 10 and P4GM readings scattering just below half its threshold of 300. The CME from the X2 flare on Sept 10 was inferred to pass earlier this morning, so we are not awaiting any specific event to hit. (However, the region 808 remains very active and may produce more events over the next days.) Ephin readings are decreasing slowly, and should allow the restart at 03:45GMT in the absence of new events. Products will be distributed later today, a load review time announced, and a radiation assessment will be held following the load review. A GO/NO-GO telecon will probably be necessary at the 11:45pm EDT pass. ACIS plans a CAP review at 1:30pm EDT for a CTI measurement, to be executed at the pass at 5:15pm EDT this afternoon. If the ACIS CAP is not executed, a version of CAP 977 will be prepared to reenable scs 107 and start radmon, including the proper delay of radmon to ensure that ephin doesn't trip due to the stale data timing issue. Sept 09, 2005 SOT Report ------------------------ Solar proton flux levels are very high (35000) and rising. 3-day Solar-Geophysical Forecast issued Sep 8 at 22:00 UTC Solar Activity Forecast: Solar activity is expected to remain at high levels. Region 808 is a large and complex sunspot group capable of producing M and X-class flares. Geophysical Activity Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to minor storm levels. The CME associated with yesterday's X17 flare was very large and very fast. Although the magnetic cloud associated with this CME is not expected to impact Earth, a shock passage is expected, which will likely produce active to minor storm periods on 09 Sep. Isolated active periods are expected on 10 and 11 Sep. The greater than 10 MeV proton event currently in progress is expected to continue through 10 Sep. A further enhancement in the greater than 10 MeV protons will likely follow the anticipated shock passage on 09 Sep. Today's X5 flare may enhance the existing proton event. The greater than 100 MeV proton event will persist through 09 Sep.