BeppoSAX Ground Operations
The BeppoSAX Ground Support System provides the support of the BeppoSAX mission from ground during all the project phases. It is in charge of the BeppoSAX Spacecraft management as well as of BeppoSAX data retrieving, storing, analysing and dispatching to the Astronomical Community. It is composed of three main elements:
The Ground Station is located at Malindi/Kenia (2.99S latitude, 40.19E
longitude). It is the real communication channel with the spacecraft assuring
a single telemetry link of about 11 min every 103 min orbit (indeed 103 min is
the approximate time span between a pass over Malindi and the next). During
each satellite pass the Ground Station pursues the following main activities:
Besides the S-band antenna and its equipments for space-earth communications,
the Ground Station is provided with a redunded Station Computer and a Data
Relay System in order to handle communications with the OCC, which is in Rome
(Italy), by means of an INTELSAT V channel. Telemetry retransmission to Rome
are performed on complession of each link and involve files hosting
housekeeping, scientific data, OBT-UTC synchronization couples and spacecraft
doppler/ranging measurements. In case of the international channel failure the
Ground Station is able to store a data volume covering ten telemetry links, as
well as to pursue an autonomous contingency spacecraft management.
The Operation Control Center (OCC) is the core of the satellite operational management.
The SDC, Scientific Data Center, is, along with the institutes of the BeppoSAX Consortium, the core of science activities. It will be the interface of the scientific community to theBeppoSAX program.
The Institutes of the BeppoSAX consortium are responsible for deep instrument calibration and data reduction software.
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Questions should be addressed to: asdc_helpdesk@asdc.asi.it |