No. 175 - Mission Operations Update
DDOR
On 17 March delta differential one-way ranging (DDOR) was performed between 05:35 UT and 06:35 UT, using the New Norcia and Cebreros ground stations to track the spacecraft. These measurements are performed monthly to support the accurate determination of the ephemeris for the planet Venus that is maintained by NASA's Solar System Dynamics Group.
The measurements were performed successfully at both stations, however at Cebreros the collected tracking data was not recorded into the External Storage Unit (ESU), so the delta-DOR data was lost. After having identified the cause of the problem it was resolved on 18 March and validated.
The table below shows a chronology of the main activities:
| MET (Day) |
Date | DOY | Main Activity |
| 1223 | 15/03/09 | 074 |
Communications pass over Cebreros |
| 1224 | 16/03/09 | 075 |
Communications pass over Cebreros |
| 1225 | 17/03/09 | 076 |
Communications pass over Cebreros |
| 1226 | 18/03/09 | 077 |
Communications pass over Cebreros |
| 1227 | 19/03/09 | 078 |
Communications pass over Cebreros |
| 1228 | 20/03/09 | 079 |
Communications pass over Cebreros |
| 1229 | 21/03/09 | 080 |
Communications pass over Cebreros. |
At the end of the last Cebreros pass in the reporting period (DOY 080) Venus Express was orbiting Venus at 42.8 million km from the Earth. The one-way signal travel time was 142.7 seconds.
Payload Activities
ASPERA
The instrument was regularly operated as part of the routine plan.
MAG
The instrument was regularly operated as part of the routine plan.
PFS
The instrument was not operated during the reporting period.
SPICAV
The instrument was regularly operated as part of the routine plan.
VeRA
No measurements were taken during the reporting period.
VIRTIS
VIRTIS-M was operated in the visual channels only.
VMC
The instrument was regularly operated as part of the routine plan.
Future Milestones
- Preparation for next gravity observation campaign with the Canberra ground station CAN43 on 15 April 2009.
- Battery Deep Discharge Test is planned for 22 April 2009.
- Start of next (outbound) quadrature phase on 29 May 2009.
- Swap of high gain antenna (HGA) from HGA2 to HGA1 on 8 June 2009.
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Legal disclaimer
This report is based on the ESOC mission operations report, MOR #175. Please see the copyright section of the legal disclaimer (bottom of this page) for terms of use.