status reports 24-May-2013 04:34:05

SOHO Status Report - November 2004

29 November 2004

Mission Status

The spacecraft status is nominal, with the High Gain Antenna (HGA) Z-axis in a fixed position.

Saab Ericsson Space has delivered a Central On-Board Software (COBS) patch that allows a more efficient use of the solid state recorder (SSR) during keyholes by selectively recording certain packets. The patch was uploaded to the spacecraft on 21 September and was successfully used during the remainder of the fall keyhole (11 September - 5 October) to record low bandwidth helioseismology and total solar irradiance (TSI) data. The nominal recording capacity of the SSR is 11 hours. The patch allows to record nearly 70 hours of helioseismology and TSI data from GOLF, VIRGO and MDI, and over 230 hours if the medium bandwidth helioseismology (MDI) is excluded.

During the June and September keyholes two nominal manoeuvres were performed on 22 June and 21 September. Each manoeuvre consisted of a 180 degree roll and a station keeping. The 21 September manoeuvre also included a momentum management. Total fuel used on 22 June and 21 September was 0.3980 kg and 0.0252 kg, respectively. The estimated remaining fuel is 119.2 kg, and the remaining current margin for the solar arrays 10 A.

Operations and Archiving

All instruments are nominal and SOHO science operations are progressing smoothly. Links to the SOHO archives (including mirrors) are accessible at http://soho.estec.esa.nl/data/.

Science Highlights

Over the summer two very successful and memorable SOHO workshops were held:

  • SOHO-14 was held jointly with the annual meeting of the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) from 12 to 16 July 2004 at Yale University on the topic "Helio - and Asteroseismology: Towards a Golden Future". It focused on the study of the interior of the Sun from a seismic perspective and the prospects for similar study of solar-like stars. Nearly 120 participants discussed over 125 papers addressing a wide variety of topics, including the observational status of low-, medium-, and high-degree p-mode characterization, low- frequency g-mode detection, solar structure and dynamics, mode excitation and damping, advances in local helioseismology, and first results from the Canada's asteroseismology mission MOST. The proceedings will be published by ESA (SP-559).

  • SOHO-15 was held from 6 to 9 September at St. Andrews University, UK, on the topic "Coronal Heating". More than 130 participants presented and discussed over 140 papers addressing a wide variety of topics, including wave heating, the role of magnetic reconnection, and kinetic aspects of coronal heating. The proceedings will be published by ESA (SP-575).

Last Update: 17 May 2006

For further information please contact: SciTech.editorial@esa.int

Status Reports Archive

  • http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=31525&farchive_objecttypeid=30&farchive_objectid=30930

Related Links

  • SOHO Data Archives (http://soho.esac.esa.int/data/)