1. Roger Brissenden CXC Manager 22 October 2013
Chandra Users’ Committee CXC Manager’s Status Report For the period October 2012 – September 2013
Roger Brissenden
CXC Manager
22 October 2013

2. Topics Program Management Mission Operations Science Operations
Spacecraft
Science Instruments and Calibration
Mission Planning
Operations Control Center
Science Operations
CXC Data Systems
Calibration
Data Processing
Chandra Director’s Office
GO Program
Einstein Program
Education and Public Outreach
CXC Status Report/CUC

3. Top Level Summary Spacecraft and instruments are performing superbly
Fine Sun Sensor (FSS) was swapped to B (redundant) side to mitigate reduced A-side field of view
Momentum Unloading and Propulsion System (MUPS) was swapped to B side to allow use of A side in event of a safe mode
MUPS-B2 thruster will not be used due to zero thrust
There are no known spacecraft limitations due to degradation, aging or consumables that would prevent our meeting Level 1 requirements over the course of a 20-year mission
Preparing for 2014 NASA Senior Review
Chandra and Hubble to have individual non-competitive reviews
CXC Status Report/CUC

4. Program Management
CXC Status Report/CUC

5. Program Management Contract Budget Staff Other
Contract (Option 1) currently runs through 30 Sept 2016
Option 2 available through 30 Sept 2019
Budget
CXC is funded through December 16
CXC’s budget and expenditures are consistent with the current plan
Directed to conduct EPO program in FY14
Awaiting FY14 funding guidelines from HQ
Staff
Current staffing profile is consistent with plan
3 positions were eliminated in 2013 (staff members left, will not be replaced)
All remaining positions are filled
Other
Complying with NASA travel restrictions, which have reduced CXC travel and increased administrative burden at CXC and MSFC
CXC Status Report/CUC
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 5

6. Program Management CXC-organized Conferences and Reviews
Chandra Peer Review (18-20 June 13) Boston
CXC Users’ Committee (22-23 Oct 13) at CfA
Einstein Fellows Symposium (29-30 Oct 13) at CfA
Considering 15 Years of Science with Chandra symposium – fall ‘14
CXC Status Report/CUC

7. Mission Operations Spacecraft Science Instruments
Continues to operate extremely well
Nominal passages through eclipse seasons
Swapped to Fine Sun Sensor B and MUPS side B
Science Instruments
Instruments are operating extremely well
ACIS flight software triggered its first solar radiation safety action (5/22)
Operations Control Center
Smooth operations
OCC air conditioning system upgrade was completed June 2013
Virtual OCC data system transitioned to operations 24 July 13
Mission Planning
6 fast-turnaround (load interrupting) TOOs during this period
Observing efficiency is ~80% maximum due to orbit evolution
CXC Status Report/CUC
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 7

8. Mission Operations – Observing Efficiency
Observing time has increased due to evolving orbit
CXC Status Report/CUC
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 8

9. Mission Operations – Consumables Momentum Unloading & Propulsion System (MUPS) Fuel Usage
CXC Status Report/CUC
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 9

10. Mission Operations – Consumables MUPS Thruster Warm Starts
CXC Status Report/CUC
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 10

11. Science Operations CXC Data System Releases
CIAO Data Analysis Releases
Version Date Main contents
DS Dec12 Data system 64bit port of code base; release Sol32
DS Dec12 Back out ds9 v7.1 and revert to v5.7
DS Dec12 CfP 15 proposal planning support
DS Dec12 V&V patch
DS Apr13 CfP 15 proposal submission support
DS May13 Peer review GUI & database
DS Jun13 Data system migration to Linux
DS Aug13 Small upgrades
Version Date Main contents
CIAO Dec13 CfP 15 data analysis release
CIAO 4.6B1 20Jun13 CIAO 4.6 Beta 1
CXC Status Report/CUC

12. Science Operations Data Processing
Automatic processing is current; mean time from end of observation to delivery to user remains at about one day
Calibration
Products released since October 2012
Set of ACIS blank sky observations appropriate for observations since September 2009
Set of time-dependent ACIS quantum efficiency maps
Gain maps for ACIS (quarterly) and HRC (annual)
HRC-S QE map for data taken with the new HV setting
Products to be released by December 2013
Update to ACIS contamination model
Improved low energy (<500 eV) gains for ACIS
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 12

13. Science Operations Data Delivery
As of middle of following month
As of 10/7/13
Month
Number of Obs
Days to Data Delivery
Number Deliv
Number Outstanding
Comments
Min
Avg
Max
Oct-12 70 2 14
Nov-12 87 1 4
Dec-12 85 9
Jan-13
Feb-13 75 12
Mar-13 73 6
Apr-13 67 8
May-13 56 11
Jun-13 69 68
Jul-13 53 3
Aug-13 7
Sep-13 63 13
Avg delivery ~1 day from observation
CXC Status Report/CUC

14. Chandra Director’s Office
General Observer Program – Cycle 15
Proposal deadline 3/14/13; 636 proposals received; 5.4x time oversubscription
Peer review 6/18-21/13
179 proposals approved for 20 Msec, including 2 X-ray Visionary Projects totaling 5 Msec
136 U.S.-based proposals, 43 non-U.S.
Einstein Fellowship Program
189 proposals were submitted for the 2013 Einstein fellowships (11/1/12)
Peer review held 1/16/13; 12 fellowships awarded
Call for proposals for 2014 fellowships issued 8/2/13 (deadline 1/7/13)
Einstein Fellows Symposium (29-30 Oct 13) at CfA
CXC Status Report/CUC
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 14

15. Chandra Director’s Office Grant Awards
Month of Data Delivery
Federal Grants
(1,3)
SAO Grants (2)
As of middle of following month
As of 10/8/13
Non-Federal Grants (3)
No. Grants Awarded
No. Outstanding
Avg days to award (4)
Outstanding Awards
Proposal no, Comments
Oct-12 1 11 9 2 14
Nov-12 5 7
Dec-12 51 40 21 50
pre-funding cancelled
Jan-13 8 38
Feb-13 13
Mar-13 12
Apr-13
May-13 18 17
Jun-13 10
Jul-13 3
Aug-13
Sep-13
(1) Grants awarded to scientists at Federal institutions as interagency transfers through MSFC.
(2) Grants awarded to scientists at non-Federal institutions through SAO Contracts and Grants Department
(3) Number of grants eligible for award, for which data were delivered to the observer in the month.
(4) Average days from data delivery to grant award to observer.
Grants are typically awarded within ~2-3 weeks of observation
CXC Status Report/CUC
CXC Status Report/CUC
Page 15

16. Education and Public Outreach
Press
1 AAS press event, 11 science press releases, 1 press release posting, 19 image releases, 1 non-science release resulting in ~1900 articles in print, web news and science web sites. Monthly estimated audience in tens of millions.
Web, Digital, Social Media
Public web site attracts average of ~15 million hits per month
Award-winning podcasts remain the #1 download with ~half a million hits/month
Social media platform continues to grow, with cumulative ~41k followers on Twitter, ~55k Facebook likes, >1 million video views on YouTube
Public Outreach
Launched “Here, There & Everywhere” exhibit in libraries, 1/mo. over 3 years
Education
21 events at National Science Teachers & other meetings reaching 785 teachers
National Science Olympiad; supported national competition events and coaches clinics reaching ~100,000 students on over 6000 teams
OMB & president continuing to push for cancellation of NASA education activities
EPO guidelines in flux
CXC Status Report/CUC