From - Thu Dec 18 13:44:26 1997 From: Al Frandsen Subject: ACE L1 Insertion >From: Don Margolies > >Hello to All, > >I am sure that by now you all know that ACE is in L1 orbit. The following >messages may be of interest. > >Happy Holidays to all of you. > >Don > > >Frank, > >Congratulations to you and your Team for getting ACE on station in a most >efficient way. The FOT and FDF folks did an outstanding job and >demonstrated that their training, over the last few years, paid off in >heightened readiness. I am sure that the team will continue to perform >their tasks for years to come and I have no doubt that I speak for the >whole ACE Science Team when I say thank you all for a job well done. > >Don > >At 08:21 AM 12/15/97 -0500, Frank Snow wrote: >> >>Don, >> On Friday, December 12, at 0115 GMT (8:15 PM EST, 5:15 PM PST), the >>ACE observatory completed an 18 minute axial thruster burn, slightly >>increasing its velocity, and officially arriving at the Earth-Sun libration >>point (L1). On day 110 of operations after numerous thruster burns, ACE has >>safely arrived. The Halo Orbit Insertion maneuver by itself, lasting four >>days, required over twenty thousand thruster commands. >> For the next few days, the Flight Dynamics team will collect >>tracking data and then perform a trim maneuver by December 19. After the >>trim maneuver, the high voltage instruments will be fully activated. The >>Flight Operations Team will continue to test the ACE observatory with the >>intention of declaring ACE operational and ready to enter phase E on >>February 1, 1998. >> >> Frank Snow >> ACE Ground System Project Manager >>Permanent email address: Francis.E.Snow.1@gsfc.nasa.gov >> >> Actual email mailbox: fsnow@pop400.gsfc.nasa.gov >> Business phone: +1 301 286-7494 >> Location: Building 6 Room W121 >> >> Business address: NASA >> Goddard Space Flight Center >> Mailstop 410.0 >> Greenbelt, MD 20771 >> Organization: 501.0, Employer: NASA